Puss in Boots: How the legend came to be
by Tigerboy101
Summary: You may have wondered about the young Puss in Boots during his youth and earlier years. Who was his first love? How did he get into his flirting ways? How did he learn how to use a sword? This dramatic and heroic tale, explains just how everyone's favorite feline came to be. And the amazing story he has to tell. Rated T for romance, suggestive themes, and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is, the big story as I promised! Chapter 1 may seem boring, but be patient with me here. I will be getting to the good parts soon in future chapters, and the action, don't worry. Like every good story, (In my opinion) the action does not ALWAYS begin at the ****beginning, it works its way their. Anyway, this chapter is based on how Puss was found, and goes through a brief amount of Imelda's point of view. (I know, sounds boring) But please, be patient with me.**

**Despite this, REVIEWS are much appreciated!**

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Chapter 1: Prologue

Thunder clouds covered the night skies of San Ricardo, as heavy rain beat down on the small town. Thunder rumbled loudly, followed by an occasional flash of lightning, as the rain continued to fall. The four guard towers were lit with only a few candles, or lanterns, which were put out continually by the rain and whistling winds, as guards struggled to keep them lit. They wore cloaks, and were armed with crossbows and swords, scouting for any trouble in the dark night. San Ricardo was small, so it was pretty easy to see if anything was happening. But the guards had to be alert. If the English or French tried to start a raid on the little town, the citizens had to be warned about it the minute it started, so that way they could escape in time.

Meanwhile, guards patrolled the streets, holding a lantern as they walked along the damp road. All of the citizens were in at this time of the day, for obvious reasons.

Expect for the naughty children at the orphanage of course…..

Imelda peeked open the door to check on the children, whom she expected to see still up. But to her relief, they all slept soundly, a candle lit by each of their beds.

The distance sound of their breathing was the only sound she could hear in the room, followed by the occasional shuffle of their blankets.

It was a peaceful sight to Imelda, seeing the children enjoying a good night's rest. They had needed it after the long day they had spent, playing various games outside together.

She closed the door lightly, careful not to cause a distraction to them.

But she still had to check B wing. They were the worst of the children. Always staying up too late, bullying other people, harassing the guards, and being completely disobedient and just plain rude.

Imelda loved all the children at the orphanage, but if these kids were ever going to be adopted, they needed to stop acting like a pack of wild horses and start acting like civilized young people!

Imelda sighed, knowing what she'd find as she walked down the hall towards the double doors of B wing.

The other caretakers were making the beds for other children or adjusting the windows so the rain wouldn't get in. One picked up wooden toys off the floor while another cleaned up a table that looked as if it had been plagued by barbarians.

Imelda reached the double doors finally, taking a deep breath before opening the doors.

No surprise to her, the children were all up, laughing and jumping on their beds while others gazed out the window, pointing at lightning strikes that soared through the sky.

Even though it may not have looked that bad, it sounded loud.

Imelda walked into the room, hands on her hips as she gave the children a stern look. "Children, it's time for bed!" she called to them, trying to get their attention.

She received a group of groans and moans of sadness from the children, as they turned their attention to her.

"Do we have to?" one moaned.

"I don't want to go to sleep yet!" another whined.

"Please, just 5 more minutes." One boy begged.

Imelda didn't want to discourage them, but at the same time, she couldn't let them control her.

"I already gave you ten minutes extra, now off to bed!" Imelda told them firmly.

"Please?" The boy begged again. "We promise to go right to bed right afterwards! Promise."

Imelda sighed with distress at this, and rolled her eyes. She found herself not being able to turn away their pleas.

"Not a minute longer!" Imelda said with a shake of her finger, sending cheers of joy from the children.

"But I need you all to promise Aunt Imelda that you'll stay very quiet, so your friends can sleep. Imelda told them crossly.

"We promise," The children said in unison.

And with that, she exited B wing, closing the door behind her.

"A bunch of little Diablos aren't they?" One of the caretakers said amusingly as Imelda started to help her make a bed.

Imelda chuckled at this. "Every child just needs patience and love, and they will do just fine." Imelda insisted as she added the finishing touches to the bed.

"If you say so," The caretaker replied doubtfully, as she walked away from her.

Suddenly, a rapid knock sounded from the door, grabbing Imelda and the other caretakers' attention.

"Is that the patrol already?" One of the caretakers asked in confusion.

Imelda started toward the main door cautiously, reaching for the door knob slowly.

She opened the door a crack, until she noticed there was no one there. "Hola?" Imelda's voice echoed as she stepped onto the stone patio. She glanced from side to side into the darkness, but could see no sign of whom or what it could have been.

But she could hear a faint mewling sound below her, almost like a cry. Imelda looked down at the ground in front of her, gasping once she saw what it was.

There was little carriage on the ground, with a little ginger kitten in it, crying for milk as it swiped at the air in front of it, as if expecting to get it from thin air.

"Oh my lord," Imelda said with delight as she knelt down at the little bundle of fur.

The other caretakers had gathered at the door behind her, wondering what all the fuss was about. "What is it?" One of them asked impatiently.

Imelda picked up the basket by the handle, carefully stroking the kitten as she held it up for the others to see, causing gasps of delight to erupt from the caretakers.

"It's a gift from god," Imelda cried as she brought the basket inside.

"He's adorable!" One of the caretakers cried joyfully as they brought him inside.

"Who's the owner?" Another asked, peering into the darkness again.

"I do not know." Imelda said with equivalent wonder as she examined the little kitten.

"But I don't think he will be coming back," Imelda remarked as she gazed outside.

"Imelda, you do realize we are going to have to find a home for him, Si?"A caretaker asked her.

But Imelda felt as if she could never leave this little lump of fur. There was something about him that made her not want to leave him, as if she were his mother…. Imelda had always wanted a child of her own. Surely she was allowed to own an animal?

"I think he will do right here," Imelda said, gazing into the little kittens green eyes.

"Humph!" One of the caretakers grunted. "That just adds one more mouth to feed."

"Well I'll risk it," Imelda countered, suddenly defensive for the kitten. "He belongs right here," she added warmly, scratching the little kitten on the head, making him purr lightly.

And so began the story of Puss in Boots...

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**And that's the ****prologue. Again, I know it may seem boring, but PLEASE be patient. The next chapter discusses a small part of Puss' childhood, but will eventually get into the action in later chapters. (And romance. "Meow") I promise you will not be disappointed next chapter.**

**In Chapter 2: Puss is now 12 years old, just becoming a young male cat. He enjoys the friendship of his best and most favored friend, Humpty Alexander Dumpty, but soon gets into trouble with him after discovering a fairy tale too good to be true. (Chapter is mostly humorous, near the end)**


	2. Friendship Blues

**Here's chapter two of the big story... You should expect this chapter to be humorous, with a few hints of romance in it. (*Meow*) I'm surprised I managed to get this chapter done so early. I guess that the advantages of the weekend huh? (More writing, and more writing ;D) Anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**PLEASE review and tell me what you guys think of the story so far! **

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12 years later….

The kitten soon grew into a fine young cat, although it hadn't always been smooth through a good amount of his childhood. He had even made a friend, Humpty Alexander Dumpty, whom had given him his name, Puss. The two had somewhat of a bond, looking out for each other almost brotherly like, as they grew up together.

Puss sat on the end of one of beds in the orphanage, watching the children play through the window. He could see the few clouds drifting through the sky, the rest of it, clear as the ocean blue. A flock of birds flew by the window, forming a prefect V shape in the sky.

He had been feeling lonely as a ghost, with just about nothing to do in this place. All he had was a tangled up ball of yarn, which he had had ever sense he was a kitten.

And he didn't feel in the mood to be playing with the other children or Humpty. Besides, the other children didn't care about him, as Puss had been teased by them as a young kitten. Even though Humpty had been a great and supporting friend to him, playing with the same person all day had bored Puss, though he didn't want to hurt his friend's feelings by saying this.

He wanted a friend that was like him, a cat. But where would he ever hope to find someone like that? There was a fat chance that another cat would be adopted by the orphanage, and not only that, he wasn't even allowed beyond the front yard of the orphanage!

Why did Imelda have to be so over secure of him like this? He wasn't a kitten anymore!

Puss sat up from the bed, as he quietly leapt onto the wooden floor.

He took a quick glance, to make sure Imelda wasn't watching, before padding over to the doorway.

To his satisfaction, the doorway opened as one of the older children walked through the door, allowing him to easily slip through before it closed.

He ran across the front yard until he reached a small, moss covered boulder on a patch of hilly ground.

Puss had found this rock as a kitten, which was one of his favorite places to go to think, even though it was getting too big to fit all of him on it at once.

He leapt up onto the boulder, kneading the moss with his claws briefly, before settling on top of it comfortably.

His could see the few of the town houses below from here, watching a few occasional guards walk by, their pikes and flintlocks readied for trouble.

Gunpowder had just recently become a new invention, and was extremely expensive to buy in the market from the way Puss had heard it. This meant that guards rarely used muskets or flintlocks because of its price and rarity.

Traders often came by, who sometimes shared stories with the children about legends, fairy tales, or exotic goods. He liked listening to their stories, though one in particular caught his interest: The capital.

He had heard all about the fantasies of Madrid and about how it was where the Queen and the richest people lived, showered with gold each day.

Puss had believed that it actually showered gold when he was a kitten, but soon found out it was merely a saying as he grew up.

The traders were what Puss was watching out for right now, looking out for the large horses they used as portable carriers. But for the moment, there were no merchants in sight.

Puss was about to leap down, until he noticed something in the distance.

It was a little white shape, which Puss had almost mistaken for a lamb, until he saw the tail.

It was beautiful, white she cat, chasing a butterfly.

Puss could not help starting at her, his attentive green gaze fixed on her.

He couldn't believe his luck, another cat!

Puss looked back at the orphanage, than back at the white cat. She wasn't far from the yard.

Maybe Imelda would make an exception about this…..

Puss started down the hill, not waiting to think about it.

He could feel himself gaining speed as the sea breeze blew through his fur, ruffling it as he trotted down the hill.

He was close now…. So close Puss could almost pick up her sweet smelling scent.

Suddenly, his legs gave in under him, making him tumble down the hill clumsily, as he struggled to get a grip with his little claws. His claws only harmlessly sliced through the blades of grass, as he flew through the air, and hit the ground hard.

The impact made him dizzy, as his blurred vision gradually came back to him.

He couldn't figure out why it was so dark…. Until he found himself staring under his legs, his tail twitching lightly.

A soft voice sounded behind him.

"Hello? Are you okay?"

Puss shook himself into reality, now realizing the awkward position he was in, as he scrambled up clumsily from the ground.

He blushed with embarrassment once he noticed the white she cat staring at him. Amusement twinkled in her eyes, as she stared at him. "Are you okay?"

"Uh… yeah!" Puss quickly gave himself a frantic groom, trying his best to smoothen all his ruffled fur, but with little success.

They both seemed quiet, until she spoke up anxiously. "My name is Cloud. What's yours?"

It took Puss a moment to realize she was asking him a question.

"Puss," He replied, still anxious about meeting this new cat.

"Well Puss, that was a funny way of saying hello back there." She told him amusingly.

Puss blushed again at this, before replying. "Yeah, I tend to not be very good at that."

Cloud giggled at this. "I'm nervous about meeting new people too, don't worry about it."

She padded up to him, until she was inches from his face, than started to sniff he cautiously.

"Are you new around here? I don't think I've seen you around here before." Cloud remarked.

Puss looked back at the orphanage, his ears drooping with shame. He didn't want her to think he was a loner, with absolutely no friends or a family. (Otherwise think badly of him) But he felt he couldn't lie to her, if they were going to be friends at all.

Cloud looked in the direction of where he was gazing, and then noticed his expression. "Hey, don't feel bad. I understand what it's like to have no family, trust me."

A feeling of sadness seemed to emit from her, before her expression changed.

"I lived at an orphanage once too, until I ran away."

Puss' ears stood up at this.

He could never run away from this orphanage! He loved Imelda, even if she was hard on him at certain parts. So how could Cloud?

"You did?" Puss found the courage to ask. Cloud nodded.

"Then I found this family, were I live with my two sisters now."

"You must really like it here." Puss told her.

"I do." Cloud admitted. "Although there are a few things that could be better around here."

She seemed anxious as she talked, as if Cloud had wanted to say something to him.

"Are you okay?" Puss asked her, hoping he hadn't asked the wrong question.

But she ignored him, glaring past him at something or someone.

Puss turned around to find a grey, tom padding toward them, a smug expression on his face.

Cloud hissed at him as he approached them. "What do you want Clovis?"

The grey cat just sat down in front of them and started grooming himself briefly, as if he could come and go as he pleased.

"I just noticed you had a new, "friend" and wanted to give him a friendly greeting. There's nothing wrong with being friendly is there now?" The grey cat said with another smirk, as he sat up from the ground.

For once, Puss actually noticed how plump and fattened up Clovis had looked, as he lifted his belly off the ground.

"You been good to Cloud lately?" Clovis growled as he leaned towards Puss, his fur bristling.

Puss looked at Clovis, than back at Cloud in confusion, starting to think he understood the situation, as he backed away slowly. "Oh, I didn't know you two were…"

Cloud tried to defuse the situation. "We're not-"

"That's right, we are." Clovis interrupted, his fur bristling again. "And if you're trying to flirt with her, then you're going to have to get through me."

"And if you do…."

Clovis leaned closer to him again, so close Puss could feel his hot breath on his face. "You're going to wish I was never born." He growled.

"We're just friends," Puss claimed innocently.

Clovis didn't seem convinced. "Right, that's what all those male cats say. Well here's news for you, she's mine."

"Clovis, go be a jerk somewhere else! Nobody wants you here, and in fact, I NEVER will!" Cloud said firmly, anger burning in her glaring eyes. "Now leave Puss alone! We're only friends, why do you have to act so territorial over me?"

Clovis just kept the same smug expression as he turned to pad away, but wasn't finished.

"You say that now, but I know you love me. The day will come when you will become my mate, just you wait Cloud." Clovis claimed, finally turning to leave.

"Dream on, Fatty!" Cloud called after him.

"What's his problem?" Puss asked, also watching him depart.

"His problem is that he has a stupid obsession with me, and that he can't stop trying to impress me." Cloud snorted. "When I was talking about some problems, I mostly meant him."

"Are you okay now?" Puss asked her, suddenly feeling concerned for Cloud.

Cloud gazed into Puss' eyes. "Si, I'm just fine."

For some reason, Puss couldn't take him gaze off her, still staring into her blue eyes.

Cloud finally spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

"What's with the stare?" she asked, giggling a little bit.

"You have very pretty eyes," Puss blurted out. He blushed with embarrassment, now realizing what he had just said, as he did a silent facepalm in his head.

"What are you, stupid?" he thought to himself.

Cloud giggled nervously again. "Ummm…. Thanks I guess?"

"You're welcome I guess?" Puss replied, making them both chuckle and smile lightly at each other.

That's when a yelp of pain erupted from her, as she struggled to balance on one of her forelegs, which she had picked up from the ground.

Puss quickly padded up to her, startled at the sudden outburst. "What's wrong?"

Cloud showed him her left foreleg. "I think there's something in my paw, but I can't reach it!"

That's when Puss saw the little thorn stuck in her paw.

He took a step forward from behind, as she stuck out her back paw for him to see. He gripped the little thorn in his teeth, then pulled back slightly, making her let out a small yelp, signaling that he had gotten rid of it.

"Ow! That hurt!" Cloud complained.

But her complaint died down, as she felt a slight wet feel where the thorn used to be.

Behind her, Puss had been grooming her paw with his tongue, until she finally signaled that he was good.

"Thank you," Cloud told him gratefully, as she put her paw back down.

But then she felt a paw on her back, followed by the presence of Puss against her from behind.

"What are you doing back their?" Cloud asked amusingly, trying to glance back at him. "I hope you aren't trying anything."

Puss had started grooming her fur, making sure that each little strand was smooth, just as he had done with her paw.

She felt alarmed at first, but her fur soon started to lie flat again, as she started to purr lightly.

He kept one paw on her back, as he started to groom the top of her head.

For some strange reason, Cloud had felt comfortable while he washed her, as if he wasn't the strange cat she had meant 10 minutes ago, but a friend.

He finally finished grooming her, as he slipped off the top of her.

Her tail went down again, as she turned to face him again.

"I hope I didn't creep you out or anything," Puss told Cloud.

This time, it was Cloud who blushed at this. "No, not really. I actually liked it, I thought it was nice of you." She replied, giving him a lick on the ear.

Puss finally found the courage to ask. "Cloud, are we…. You know, friends?"

Cloud brushed her muzzle against his briefly. "Of course we-"

They were both interrupted, when a voice sounded from up the hill. "Puss! Puss where are you?"

With a drop of his ears, Puss realized who it was. Imelda.

"Who's that?" Cloud asked.

Puss sighed with frustration. "My mother, well, my foster mother." He explained.

"I'm sorry but I have to go. I think I'm in trouble."

Puss turned to run up the hill, as Cloud stared after him, a longing look in her eyes as he darted away.

Even as she watched him, she hadn't realized just how deeply she would come to care for him in the years to come, as a new strong friendship began…. Followed by a new light shining in the distance.

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**Another Chapter, done by your's truly. I must admit, it was a big change for me, starting from young Puss' point of veiw, from his usual seductive personality, but I think I am doing well on that. Again, you may not see the action until chapter 4, but be patient. **

**Chapter 3 preview: Now restricted to the inside of the ****orphanage, Puss converses with his best friend, Humpty, who gives him a mischievous idea to try and get something they longed to find through their early childhood, only to find himself in more trouble.**


	3. The Gourmet

**Here is chapter 3! I am very sorry for the long delay, and I know it is boring, but the action parts will come, be patient. However this chapter will be very humorous, and i think readers will find it that way too. Enjoy!**

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"Puss, you know the rules I give you are very serious, and I expect you to see them that way!" Imelda was just telling him sternly.

"I only went like two feet down the hill! It's not a big deal…." Puss countered.

"It is Puss. There is a very good reason I ask you not to go beyond the orphanage hill, you know that!" Imelda said firmly.

Puss looked up at her innocently. "I only wanted a friend," he replied quietly.

"A friend? You already have so many friends all around you, and what about Humpty? You always played with him all the time, what about him?" Imelda asked.

"I thought you said you didn't want us playing together," Puss pointed out.

"What?"

Puss gave her an amused look. "Imelda, you don't remember the beans?"

"Oh… I almost forgot about that time," Imelda replied, remembering it all now.

He and Humpty had always gotten into trouble as little kids, after hearing about the legend of the magic beans, which had gotten them excited into believing that the beans could be any rare kind that they find. The one time Puss was recalling, was the time Puss had fried the Captain of the Guard's beard with his own cooked beans, nearly turning Puss into a roasted cat in the process. After that little incident, Humpty and Puss had obviously been separated temporarily. But Puss didn't believe in the magic beans anymore, which had served as a pain reliever for Imelda at the time of discovery. (And the Captain of the Guard)

"But Puss, you have other friends here at the orphanage! Why don't you play with the other children?" Imelda asked him.

Puss sighed with frustration as he rolled his eyes. "Because they don't WANT to play with me, Imelda. Besides, I want a friend that's like me, another cat," Puss explained.

Sadness started to show in his eyes, as he started to realize how lonely he had been all his life.

Imelda let out a sigh, now realizing the problem as she sat down at the bed next to him. "Puss, I cannot adopt another cat, we have been over this before."

"Then at least let me visit my friend! Please! I'll be good, I'll do every chore in the orphanage, I'll do anything!" Puss begged.

"Puss, if I let you visit the town, you know I have to let the other children do it as well, it wouldn't be fair to them…" Imelda started.

"Please! I'll do anything!" Puss protested again. Imelda sighed again.

"Where is this cat you have met?" Imelda asked him.

Puss felt a flicker of hope appear. "At the bottom of the hill, just at the edge of town," Puss replied.

"Well….. I suppose I could make an exception…."

Puss yowled with joy, leaping into her arms. "Thank you! Thank you, Imelda! I promise I won't let you down!" He assured her.

"You can start with calling me, "Mother," Imelda said with a smile.

Puss sighed as he padded out of the room, rolling his eyes sarcastically. "Yes, mother."

He walked along the main floor of the orphanage, until he reached the bed to the right, closest to the B wing door.

Leaping onto the bed, he made himself comfortable on the soft covers, before sitting himself down. Humpty had just reached the bed next to him.

"Did Imelda bust you again?" Humpty asked with a smirk.

"Kinda," Puss replied miserably.

"Puss, don't take it personally, she ALWAYS, treats us like that, you know that," Humpty stated.

"Yeah I know, but I wish she wouldn't," Puss muttered, as he stretched out on the bed. Humpty lie on the bed next to him quietly, before he started talking again.

"I know what'll cheer you up," Humpty insisted.

Puss sighed with frustration. "No Humpty, we are not going bean hunting!"

Humpty sighed back in reply. "Come on Puss, I bet I have the right kind this time!"

"Humpty, you've said that like hundred times before. Besides, I don't believe in them anymore, they are just a fairy tale for little kids at bedtime," Puss stated.

"But you promised," Humpty reminded him, giving Puss an upset look.

Puss hesitated, then rolled his eyes before replying, "Alright, ONE more try, then that's it."

At times, Humpty acted like a five year old to Puss.

He hopped onto Humpty's bed next to him. "So what's the plan, all powerful plan master?" He asked.

Humpty smiled as he pulled out a small scroll, with a well drawn blueprint of the orphanage's Kitchen.

"I was hoping you would ask that. Anyway, the Gourmet chief is supposed to be arriving here, tonight. And the recipe he is bringing, is a bean kind so rare, that we haven't even discovered it yet! That is the target. We need to get at least 4 of these beans, just like the legend says, without the Gourmet chief seeing us, or we are gonna be in big trouble." Humpty explained. "So are you in?"

The question took Puss by complete surprise. He didn't feel so sure now if he wanted to take the risk just for 4 beans that probably weren't even real…..

"I don't know Humpty," Puss started uneasily, "This plan sounds a little risky, breaking into the kitchen when the gourmet is cooking? Imelda will skin me alive, and then cook you for breakfast if she found out we were snooping in their! Besides, couldn't we just take a few beans during dinner?" Puss asked.

"Puss, the beans aren't for us," Humpty explained.

After thinking long and hard, Puss finally replied. "Alright, what's the plan?"

And with that, Humpty started to explain his detailed plan to Puss.

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Puss sat on his bed, grooming himself casually as the Gourmet Chief passed by. The other children were loudly annoying and bombarding him with constant questions as he walked down the hall to the kitchen. "Children!"

Imelda's cheery voice sounded from the B wing door. "Please give the Gourmet some space! He is very busy tonight!"

"But I want to see what the secret food is!" One child whined.

"Well you are going to have to be patient if you want to see it! The Gourmet is working very hard to make this fine fiesta for us tonight!" Imelda insisted.

"Gracious Senoria," The Gourmet chief bowed his gratitude to Imelda, before disappearing into the kitchen.

Imelda walked over to Puss, who was still on top of the bed. "Puss, I need you and Humpty to please stay out of trouble while the Gourmet is here, can you do that for me?" Puss nodded in reply.

"Good, now please stay out of the kitchen while he is working, the Gourmet is a very busy man today," Imelda insisted, ruffling the fur on his head, making Puss blush as she walked away.

He knew that he couldn't get caught today, or he would be dead for sure. He and Humpty had already been in enough trouble already, the last thing he needed was the Gourmet's attention. He was already on bad enough terms with the Gourmet, considering he had tried twice to steal from him before.

That's when he noticed Humpty stick his head out the B Wing door, then crept to the Kitchen door, gesturing for Puss to join him. Puss leapt out of his bed stealthily, as he crept over to the kitchen door, mimicking it in a dramatic ninja kind of way. Humpty watched scene with amusement as Puss finally made it to the other side of the double doors. "Alright, we got to be really quiet Puss, let me check for the Gourmet first," Humpty insisted, as he opened the door a bit, making it let out a loud "creak." They both flinched, expecting for the Gourmet to see them, but lucky for them, he was too occupied with his vegetable chopping for him hear it. "Okay, now," Humpty said in a frantic whisper as they both tiptoed through the door together. The Gourmet hummed the tune of a song to himself as he tossed the vegetable into the decorated pot he had hanged over the fire. "Oh, yes, yes, that's very good," The Gourmet muttered to himself, rubbing his small mustache admiringly, before going back to chopping more vegetables while humming continually. His back was turned to the pot, giving Humpty a chance to tiptoe over to the boiling pot. Steam rose from the top because of the boiling water, as it disappeared into the air. Humpty hopped silent up once, then twice, but could not get a good eye at the inside. He gazed back at Puss, gesturing for him to come to him. "Puss, I need a lift!" Puss tiptoed over to him as quietly as the wooden floor would allow him to until he reached Humpty. He stuck out his front paws over the ground, as Humpty stepped onto them. Puss lifted him into the air, doing his best not to make any noise, as his shoulders throbbed at the pain of holding Humpty's weight. Humpty grabbed the jeweled rimming, then he took a quick peek over the edge. To his surprise and satisfaction, the beans hadn't been added yet. Puss finally brought Humpty down with a grunt, thankful to have that weight of his shoulders.

"How much do you weigh again?" Puss asked in a frantic whisper.

"I don't know, a lot?" Humpty replied with a shrug.

They started to tiptoe towards table in front of them, but the wooden floor let out a loud "creak," as Humpty's foot came down on it.

Humpty and Puss dived under the table quietly just as the Gourmet turned around to see what was making the noise.

"Huh?" His feet passed by their hiding spot for a moment, as he glanced behind the counter that they used to be hiding at. Then his feet drifted back over to another table, as the sound of chopping and humming resumed. Humpty and Puss let out sighs of relief as they exchanged nervous laughs.

Suddenly, the chief's feet came over to their table.

"Go find out what he is doing," Humpty whispered.

"Why me? This was your idea!" Puss countered in a frantic whisper.

"Si, but it was you who made the choice to come!" Humpty whispered back loudly, "Now go!"

Puss sighed with frustration as he silently stalked out the other side of the table. Luckily for him, the Gourmet Chief was busy rolling some dough on his cutting board.

And as Puss peaked over the edge of the table, he found just what they had been looking for.

The Beans.

Puss silently climbed onto the top of the table, then hid behind a wooden bowl, as the Chief grabbed the bag beans from right beside him at the table, then carried them to the boiling pot of water.

"Oh crap!" Puss thought, while doing a face palm to himself.

He knew there was no way he would get to the beans if they were put in there!

Puss knew he had to think of something, and fast.

That's when he noticed the rolling pin in front of him on the table. He brought out his arms, and gave it a slight push, sending it onto the ground with a loud clatter.

The sudden loud noise startled the chief, as he turned around swiftly, his eyes wide with fear. He set down the bag of beans on the table behind him, then bent over cautiously to pick up the rolling pin. When he had sat up, he had noticed something completely out of order.

An upside down bowl was sitting face down on the wooden table.

The Gourmet chef's mustache twitched with suspicion as he slowly picked up a frying pan from the wooden counter behind him.

"Raccoons in my kitchen?" He muttered crossly.

He reached toward the upside down bowl slowly, then lifted it up frantically, his frying pan ready to hit Puss.

But was he there? No.

"Huh?" The chief looked around the room confusingly, as if expecting to find a raccoon appear out of thin air.

Puss was scrunched up in the bowl, sticking his arms and legs to the bowl so that he wouldn't be seen.

The chief was about to look inside the bowl, when a voice from outside interrupted him.

"Mr. Antonio, are the appetizers ready?" Imelda called from outside.

The chief set down the bowl almost immediately, startled by the sudden voice. "Uh, yes ah senoria! I will just a moment!"

He scrambled to adjust his white chef's hat as he picked up a tray of food from the wooden table.

"Disaster, disaster I tell you!" He muttered to himself as he stepped outside with the tray.

Puss let out a sigh of relief as he sat up from the bowl, as Humpty got out from under the table. "Yes!" Humpty said under his breath.

Puss leapt onto the table with the beans, as Humpty struggled to climb onto the table.

"Puss, er- a little help here?" Humpty asked, as Puss rushed to his friend's aid. After helping get him on the table, they ran toward the sack of beans on the table.

"Finally! We got it!" Humpty said triumphantly.

"Alright, how many did we get?" Puss asked, as a grin appeared on his face.

Humpty untied the sack, and turned it over. But what came out weren't beans.

It was wheat grains!

"What?!" Humpty exclaimed with disbelief. "What are grains doing here? This bag is marked beans!"

"Ah ha!" A loud voice behind them startled them as Humpty and Puss turned to find themselves face to face with the Gourmet.

"Oh no," Puss moaned. He just knew he and Humpty were both dead already.

"So it was you two Diablos that have been scurrying around my kitchen! I should have known. You two probably think you can still steal from me and then get away with it again, don't you?" The Gourmet spat, approaching them slowly.

"N- No! You don't understand, we weren't-"

Puss tried to explain, but this chef clearly didn't want to hear their explanation.

"Sure, that's what you said before when you tried to steal my famous beans two years ago! I knew you two would try to steal again, and now it's time for you both to learn your lesson. Especially you, cat," He growled as he grabbed a frying pan from the wooden table.

"RUN PUSS!" Humpty yelled as he jumped onto the floor and started for the door.

Puss scrambled across the counter as the Gourmet chief brought his frying pan down on the counter, knocking over the sack of wheat. "Come back here you little Diablo!" He yelled after Puss as he wacked at him again with the frying pan, only to trip on the rolling pin, sending him skating across the floor until he ran right into the jeweled cauldron that held the soup, sending it onto the floor, just as Puss had made it to the door.

"Uh oh, that's not good," Puss said with a grave expression on his face, as the hot soup spilled all over the floor.

The Gourmet chief was just getting up from the floor.

"CURSE YOU PUSS!" He yelled after the orange cat as he and his friend darted out the door, laughing.

"Come on let's get out of here!" Humpty said aloud as they darted back into B wing.

Right into Imelda and the caretakers.

And they did not look happy.

The Gourmet had just struggled to get out of the kitchen, his cooking clothes covered in soup and filth.

"I am so glad that you are here, these two THIEVES, were trying to steal from me while I was cooking!" The Gourmet complained, "They even spilled my world famous soup!"

"No we didn't! It was you who spilled it!" Humpty immediately accused.

"Humpty that is enough of your excuses, go back to B wing, you're grounded," One of the caretakers said firmly.

Humpty gazed at them in disbelief. "But-"

"NOW," The caretaker ordered sternly.

Humpty rolled his eyes as he started towards B wing. "I hate you…." He muttered under his breath.

"I heard that!" The caretaker called after him.

Puss' ears drooped with shame as he turned to face Imelda, not making eye contact with her. He already knew what would happen to him.

"Puss, I am very disappointed in you, I expected better from you." Imelda said firmly.

Puss nodded silently. "Si, I am very sorry for what I have done," Puss apologized.

"Good. Now I want you to go back to B wing, where you will be informed of your punishment." But Imelda wasn't finished.

"Sometimes I feel like you will never behave puss. I love you just as much as any child here, if not more, but you have to start learning how to behave on your own, and Humpty is a bad influence on you in that way." Imelda told him.

Puss nodded sadly with understanding, before turning to walk into B wing, his tail between his legs.

He couldn't help but wonder: Would there ever be a time that he wouldn't be in trouble in his life?

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**That's Chapter 3! Again, I know there isn't any action but patience. The next chapter will be the last one one to include Puss' childhood. But a word of warning. Once Chapter 5 starts, the rating of this story will have changed. Chapters 1-4 were rated K, but that is not the case in the next part of the story after chapter 4. If you read the summary reasons of why it is rated T, then you know what to expect. I will never add porno or anything too descriptive, but their will be a good a amount of romance and Suggestive themes. There will also be a good amount of violence, which will be slightly intense for some readers. Just letting you know!**

**Chapter 4 preview: Puss, now at age 14, has been living the rest of his normal life at San Ricardo. But little does he know, that his reputation as a troublemaker, is about to change ****dramatically, when the Captain's daughter is put in a dangerous situation.**


	4. Hero

**Hope you enjoy this quick chapter, I spent all morning to get this done, so I hope I did okay! ;D Enjoy!**

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Puss sat up from his bed, stretching briefly in the sun that shined from outside the window. He already knew what he would be doing today. Humpty was still asleep, but he didn't bother to wake him up.

He hopped off the bed, landing on all fours on the wooden floor, as he started to pad towards the door.

"Going somewhere Puss?" Imelda asked from behind him.

"Yes mother, just outside to visit a friend," Puss replied simply, as he turned to walk out the door.

"Be back in time for breakfast!" She called after him as he stepped outside.

The morning breeze sliced through his fur smoothly, as the sun's rays warmed him at the same time. It was very cloudy outside, yet it also seemed very sunny at the same time.

He padded up through the grass until he reached the edge of the hill, as he gazed down it. Purring with amusement, he remembered the mistake he had made two years ago, when he tried to sprint down the hill last time.

He was waiting for someone, as his eyes scanned the town below, until his eyes rested upon a white shape just at the bottom of the hill.

Cloud.

He grinned at the sight, as he padded down the hill towards her. She smiled back at him as she padded up the hill to greet him.

"Hey Puss," She told him once they had meet up.

"Hey Cloud," Puss replied, in a slightly shy kind of way.

"So….. what should we do today?" Cloud asked, pretending to be full of wonder.

They both sat there for a moment, making pretend "Hmmmmm…" sounds.

"Shall we have a race to the edge of town?" She finally offered.

"We shall," Puss replied with a grin.

Cloud took off toward the town without warning, taking him by surprise as he started after her.

"Hey no fair, you cheated!" He protested with a laugh as he raced after her.

"I know I'm sorry!" She called back while laughing with joy.

It wasn't long before he had managed to catch up to her, as they neared the edge of town. They had both reached to wall at the same time.

"I win!" Puss declared.

"No I win!" Cloud protested.

"Yeah but you cheated," Puss replied with a smirk, earning a playful cuff over the ear from her.

"Fine how about this, we both win?" Cloud decided.

"Alright, that sounds like a fair outcome," Puss responded.

They were still breathing heavily from the race, as they sat down beside each other on the grass, their pelts nearly touching each other. They both gazed at the gate, wondering what lied beyond it.

"What do you think the world is like outside those gates?" Puss asked.

"Well, I have had my small share of the world at one time. It's pretty big, trust me," Cloud told him.

"There are these really big towering hills, which everyone calls mountains, but I never got to see one up close. What about you? Have you ever gotten a glance outside of the gates?" Cloud asked him.

"Pfft, don't I wish," Puss replied, "I just wish I could see the world for myself one day, but the rule that states that you have to be 18 to leave the orphanage doesn't apply to me, just because I am a cat," Puss muttered.

"Well, you kind of do have a family here don't you?" Cloud asked.

"Well yeah I do, but I want to start a real family, and have REAL adventures." Puss replied, "Not just sitting in the same town all year, every year."

"I feel that way sometimes too," Cloud admitted, "But when I have family and friends like you, I could never leave this place."

"Thanks, I feel the same way," Puss replied warmly.

There seemed to be some sort of tension between them, as if there was something that they both wanted to say to each other, except they were too nervous to say it.

Puss didn't know what this weird feeling was, or why he was feeling it at all.

Cloud leaned closer to his face for a moment, making him slightly nervous as he leaned back.

"Sorry about that," Cloud immediately moved back into place, though she seemed stressed about something.

"No it's fine, I didn't mean it that way," Puss replied, feeling slightly awkward about his sudden move.

"I shouldn't have done that," Cloud insisted.

"We are still friends aren't we?" Puss asked worryingly.

"Oh friends? Of- of course we are – friends," Cloud seemed hesitant on the word for some reason.

Suddenly, a scream sounded from behind them, as Puss and Cloud turned to see where it was coming from.

Citizens and bystanders were blocking the view, as guards struggled to push their way through the crowd. There was shocked whispering and gasps coming from the crowd as they gazed at something in front of them. Puss and Cloud ran around the group to the edge of the railing, which was supposed to hold something in….

That's when Puss saw the enraged bull, running around wildly around the inside of the fence. But the bull wasn't the only thing in the fence.

Hiding on one of the lower tree branches of a tree, was a terrified young woman, wearing a red dress.

Puss recognized her immediately.

She was the young daughter of the Captain of the Guard!

And sure enough, there was the Captain himself, struck with fear. "No! My beautiful daughter! Will someone please save her? Anyone!"The Captain fell to his knees with grief, dropping his broken sword, which had clearly been destroyed by the bull.

Puss gazed up at the stranded young daughter, then back at the bull. And suddenly, he had a plan.

Puss stepped forward out of the crowd, in front of the grieving Captain. "I will save her."

This sent gasps of shock up from the crowd, as they gazed at the small figure on the ground. The Captain looked at Puss, as his expression changed to doubt.

"What can you do? You are just a cat! You cannot kill a bull!" The Captain insisted.

Puss grinned. "Who says we have to kill it?"

One guard spoke up from behind the Captain. "Captain, I don't think we have much of a choice, that tree isn't going to hold forever with that Diablo continuing to hit it."

The Captain seemed reluctant, but nodded with understanding as he turned to Puss. He fell to his knees again in front of him, putting his hands lightly on his paws. "You better bring my daughter back safe," He growled through gritted teeth.

Puss sat up on two legs. "I promise you senor, no harm will come to her."

Cloud watched the scene with worry, as Puss leapt over the wooden fence onto the sandy ground.

The bull continued charging into the tree, sending leaves down from it as it shook furiously, clearly on the verge of losing a branch. The daughter clung to a tree branch desperately, as she struggled to stay on.

Puss put one paw to his mouth and gave a sharp whistle. The bull turned its attention to Puss with a loud grunt.

"Hey Diablo! Come get me!" Puss taunted, gesturing for the bull to go for it.

The bull's small tail flickered eagerly and rapidly as it huffed and grunted, scraping its foot back and forth for a charge. Finally, with one loud roar of rage, it charged after Puss at full speed. Puss ran straight at it on all fours as well, waiting until the last second before leaping over him, narrowly dodging its horns as he landed on two paws. This sent cheers up from the civilians, as they watched the scene with pure amazement. The bull ran right into the fence post, as it let out a growl of rage, shaking its head with fury as it darted around to face Puss again, who was already up the tree. Puss managed to reach the tree branch that held the Captain's daughter, as he swung in beside her.

"Senorita, I don't mean to be rude, but I am going to need a piece of your dress," Puss insisted.

"What?" The daughter stared at him with confusion. "Why?"

"Listen girl, do you want to get out of here or not?" Puss asked, starting to get impatient as the bull started toward the tree again.

The daughter finally gave in, as she ripped off a small enough piece of fabric for his paw from her red dress.

"This better be worth it, I spent so much coin on this dress," She muttered.

"Thank you senoria." Puss leapt off the tree as the bull rammed into it again.

It turned back around again, readying itself for a charge again.

Puss sprinted down the pen until he reached stable gate, which was wide open. When he reached the end, he opened the piece of red fabric as far as it would go, then waved it in between the two open gates leading to the stables. At the sight of the color red, the bull let out a loud roar again, as it charged after the fabric. Puss waited until the last second before he let go of the fabric, just as the bull ran straight into the stables. Puss swiftly shut both of the gates as fast and hard as he could, as he locked them afterwards. The bull growled and roared with rage, but couldn't find another way out of the stables, as it thrashed around the small room furiously.

Silence met afterwards, as the stunned citizens and guards watched the scene. They couldn't believe how fast he had dealt with the bull!

The daughter climbed down from the tree, thankful to be back on ground.

Finally, the crowd exploded in cheers as the guards tossed their helmets in the air, while bystanders tossed flowers at Puss, who just blushed at the scene.

The daughter knelt down beside him and scratched Puss around the ears, making him purr.

"You are a hero!" The Captain cried as he charged into the pen, followed by a few other bystanders.

Even Imelda was there, smiling as she walked up to him. "Surely a good deed like this cannot go unrewarded?" Imelda asked the Captain.

The Captain thought for a moment, fingering his beard briefly. That's when one of the guards tapped his soldier, and whispered something into his ear, as he handed him something.

The Captain nodded in reply, before turning back around to reveal a pair of small, black, boots. He put them down in front of Puss, then gestured for him to try them.

"If you are going to be a hero, you are going to have to look the part," Imelda whispered from behind him.

Puss approached them cautiously, giving them a sniff, before he sunk his back paws into the boots.

The feel of the leather against his paws felt surprisingly cool, yet also quite comfortable.

"Well? What do you think? Do you like them?" The Captain asked.

"Si, Gracious senor," Puss replied simply. He let his feet feel around the smooth boot leather, trying to get used to the smooth feel of it.

"He's like a little Puss in Boots!" Imelda exclaimed, making him blush as a few of the ladies made "Awe," sounds. But the Captain seemed to like the idea.

"Puss in Boots…. That could be your new hero name!" The Captain guessed. A few of the guards nodded in agreement, probably just because they were going along with whatever the Captain said.

Hero.

The word echoed in Puss' head, as the sound of cheering started to sound more far away.

"Was that what I was destined to be?" Puss thought.

He had heard so many tales of heroes, yet they were all either fairy tales or just folktales. But the villains he had heard of have all seemed pretty real...

All that seemed missing was a hero…..

Puss knew this was the moment of truth, the moment that would change his life forever, but could he make it work?

Puss gazed at the wanted posters on the wall behind the crowd, then at the large bounty they were worth, then back at the guards, who could only help to a certain limit with things like that….. At that moment, Puss knew that he could make a difference, as he stared down at the boots he was wearing.

"Puss? Are you alright?" Imelda's voice drew Puss out of his thoughts.

"Yes, I am fine." Puss responded, as he took a step forward. "And I would be honored to be named Puss in Boots."

The crowd exploded into cheering as they chanted his new name.

Imelda ruffled the fur on his head, before giving him a large hug, nearly strangling him to death as he pulled himself out of her grasp.

Cloud padded up beside him, smiling at him once he noticed her gaze.

"Nice work, hero," She told him as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, making his fur stand on end. Puss simply smiled back at her in reply, as they both blushed at each other.

Through the whole scene of being praised, Puss in Boots knew that his life had changed for good.

He was now a true hero of Spain.

Puss in Boots.

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**Another quick chapter all completed for you guys! I hope this was similar to how he earned his boots before, and i did my best to make it very similar to that. Anyhow, you guys should know what to expect from the next chapter, and so on and so forth. If you read my last authors note in chapter 3, then you know what you will be reading. But now comes the action parts I have been promising! (Which is working it's way towards)**

**And I would really appreciate it if you guys would share your thoughts and review! ****:D**

**Chapter 5 preview: Puss has been the hero of Spain for three years now, but he has decided to take steps to ****solidify that reputation. His first step? A sword mentor.  
**


	5. Lesson Learned

**5,000 words, *whew.* sorry for the long delay, but I bet this huge chapter will greatly make up for it, ENJOY! ;D **

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**1645, San Ricardo, Spain**

"Down, right, left, STRIKE!" The Commander barked, as his soldiers copied the moves with their sword.

"Down, right, left, STRIKE!" They echoed repeatedly, extending their sword outwards from them.

Meanwhile, Puss watched the guards curiously as they did this from atop the hill. The Commander was only staying here temporarily, just to teach the guards a few things about combat. After he was done with this town, then he would move on to the next city.

"Phase 3, maneuver one, as fast as you can!" The Commander ordered. "Down, again, sweep, midsection, STRIKE!"

"I want to see it again! Faster this time!" He shouted. They echoed the commands swiftly, but did the moves sloppily. The Commander did a face palm at the sight, sighing with frustration. "Soldier Reyez, please step forward," He said in a fake friendly tone.

One guard reluctantly stepped forward, as a few other guards tried to hide stifled laughter.

"Oh, man, he is so busted," Puss thought with amusement as he watched the scene.

"Yes senor?" The soldier replied, also trying to hide his amused expression.

"Let me ask you something Reyez, do you know how to hold a sword?" The Commander asked sternly, as one guard behind him mocked his tone of voice, sending more concealed laughter from the other guards. "Yes sir," He replied simply. "

And do you know how to do Phase 3, maneuver one?" He asked him in a curious tone.

"Yes sir. Down, repeat, sweep, midsection, strike." The soldier recited swiftly.

Puss was surprised to hear what he Commanders' reply was. "Wrong! It is supposed to go like this you fool: Down, repeat, sweep, down, midsection, THAN strike!" He barked into his ear, making Reyez flinch at his tone of voice. "How many times do I have to-"

"That's wrong Commander," Puss' voice sounded from behind the group of guards, making them all turn around in surprise.

"There was no 3rd down," Puss pointed out.

The other guards nodded in agreement, as a few whispers drifted around the group. The Commander growled with anger at his guard's sudden change of attitude. "Fine, if you think you know it so well, then why don't you show us how it's done, boy?" he challenged, offering a sword handle to Puss. Puss was stunned at how enormously large the sword looked compared to him. He was nearly half its size! How would he ever be able to hold that thing? "I- I can't Senor, the sword is too big," Puss stammered with shame, as the Commander crouched down beside him with a grin.

"Exactly. How can you possibly know the phases, if you can't even hold a sword, let along use one?" He said aloud, sending laughter from the guards behind him. The guards weren't on his side anymore, Puss knew that he was now on his own now.

"Besides, I am the Commander, I am the one who comes up with the phases, and I am the one who says if they are right or not, not some orphaned cat," he said with a smirk.

Puss did everything he could to stop himself from ripping this guy apart, as he glared at the ground in front of the Commander, not daring to meet his gaze.

"So let me ask you, Puss in Boots, what kind of hero are you if you don't even know how to save people's lives?" he challenged. "You're just a cat that wears a pair of boots, nothing more."

"Is there a problem here Commander?" The Captain's stern voice sounded from behind the group of guards. The Commander immediately changed his expression, as he turned to face the Captain. "You need to teach this cat not to interfere with matters he knows nothing about. He has interrupted my teachings twice already!" The Commander insisted angrily.

"I- I apologize Commander. You may hold me responsible for his actions," he replied nervously.

The Commander just sighed again, putting his hand on his face. "Just get this foolish cat out of my sight," He ordered.

The Captain gestured for Puss to follow, while turning back around.

"What were you thinking?" He asked Puss harshly once they were out of sight.

"All I did was correct him on ONE phase," Puss stated. "And then he started insulting me! You don't know what he said to me, you-"

"Enough!" The Captain ordered. "Puss, listen to me, just because you were named a hero three years ago, doesn't mean you can go around, saying whatever you please! I need you to show the Commander some respect, please. He came here for a very good reason, and I'm sure whatever he said to you was for a good reason as well." The Captain explained.

"But-"

"I said enough!" The Captain interrupted loudly. "Now, I'm going to let you go this time, but stay out of the Commander's way, please. We don't need any more complaints from you, or him." He told Puss firmly.

Puss glared at the Captain as he watched him walk away. Had he forgotten about what he had done for his daughter three years ago? It seemed like everyone in San Ricardo had, because now it seemed like they were treating him like nothing more than just another teenager cat! He wasn't any ordinary cat, but they had all seemed to have forgotten that by now. Puss wanted to remind them so badly, but he knew he would only get a few laughs in reply. But now that Puss thought about it, what could he possibly do to be a hero when he was only a cat? Sure, Puss could save a daughter from a bull, or get something stolen back, but those didn't involve any combat situations. All he had were a small pair of claws and teeth! Puss lowered his head in shame, thinking back to what the Commander had said.

"What kind of hero do you think you are? You're just an ordinary cat wearing a pair of boots, nothing more. You can't even hold a sword, let alone use one!"

He knew that he had to face the facts, there would never be a way for him to be a true hero. He was only delaying the inevitable. If only there was a cat swordsman in the world….

That's when the thought hit him.

That was all he needed, a sword mentor!

If there was some way he could come in contact with a sword mentor, then maybe he would have a chance at being an actual hero! But where in Spain, would he ever hope to find a CAT, sword mentor?

"I'll ask the Captain," Puss finally decided, "He may know someone."

For a moment, his own thought sounded like wishful thinking and nothing more than a fairy tale, but he pushed it out of his mind. If there was any chance of him being an actual hero, then this was his chance to prove it.

Puss started out of the alley again, now back into the streets. He sighed at the sight if all the people around the town. Ever sense he had been allowed access to the entire town now, it seemed like a foreign country to Puss. He could finally catch a glimpse of what the world would be like around him in Spain, with all the different cities and towns he would find. He was happy to finally be allowed to be out of that miserable orphanage, his life had seemed so boring, sitting in the same place for 16 years…. But Imelda had made an exception for him, now all he was waiting on was the time when she would allow him to leave San Ricardo. That was when he would be truly satisfied.

Puss walked past the General store, and a few other smaller building along the way, as other people and travelers passed by him. Men, women, children, or even the occasional cat or hound strolled up and down the dirt roads. The hounds growled at the sight of Puss, clearly not fond of cats, as their owners whistled for them to stay with them. He continued onward, until he caught sight of the Captain's bearded face, just up the road from him. Luckily, the Captain wasn't with a patrol at the moment, he was only browsing the wears of a Blacksmith. Puss picked up speed, as he made his way up to the Captain, who was now talking to the Blacksmith.

"That will be 2 sovereigns please," The smith was just telling him.

"Very well, sounds reasonable enough, I'll take it. Just have my sword improved and ready by tomorrow," The Captain said with a twitch of his beard.

The smith dipped his head in reply, and started hammering the iron sword on his metal anvil.

"Captain!" Puss' voice sounded from behind him, as Puss just reached him.

"Yes, what can I do for you, Puss?" The Captain asked, now turning his attention to Puss.

"I was wondering if I could…. Ask you about something?" Puss replied, slightly nervous.

He knew the Captain was probably going to think he was crazy after he heard the question.

"Of course, go ahead," The Captain urged him gently. He glanced back at the Blacksmith, who was still working on his iron sword on the anvil, then back at Puss.

"In fact, why don't we walk and talk?" He suggested. Puss was a little surprised at his gentleness, but simply nodded in reply, before they both started down the dirt road. "So what's on your mind today, son?" He asked him curiously.

"Well…. I was thinking a little today about…. You know, being a hero and all. And I got down to thinking that there were other ways I could solidify that reputation," Puss started uneasily.

"Meaning?" The Captain asked.

"Meaning I want to do more," Puss explained, "I want to do more for Spain, not just San Ricardo. I feel like I have to learn something else, that I have to do more for my country…." Puss told him, trying to figure out how to ask him his question.

"Boy, speak your mind already," The Captain urged impatiently. Puss knew that he had to tell the Captain flat out at this point.

He let out a deep sigh, before reluctantly replying.

"I want to learn how to use a sword."

The Captain stopped dead in his footsteps at the question, as his beard twitched with amusement. The words were stuck in Puss' throat, as if they were choking him slowly to death, as he stood there.

"I don't think I heard you right, what?" He asked Puss.

"I'm serious Senor," Puss insisted, knowing that the Captain had actually heard.

The Captain looked like he was on the verge of bursting into laughter. "You? Want to learn how to use a sword?"

Puss glared at him in reply. "Yes, do you not think I can do any better than the guards?" He growled grudgingly.

The Captain laughed in reply. "No, no, no, I don't think that at all," he insisted, "But I'm just surprised that YOU, want to learn how to use one. And I mean you are a- a cat," He pointed out, trying not to laugh again, which fueled Puss' anger even further.

"Why does it seem like everything I want to do is prohibited just because of the fact that I am a cat? Would it be the same if I were a dog? No! So why do humans have to act so protective of me as if I can't defend myself?" Puss thought angrily. But he kept his thoughts contained, knowing that he had another plan.

"If that's what you want to do, then I will respect that," The Captain was telling him, "But whom in San Ricardo, do you think would train you how to use a sword? I doubt I'd be the best teacher. So tell me boy, just which one of these guards do you think would be willing to train you?" He asked Puss, his voice filled with doubt.

"I don't," Puss replied, "I was actually wondering, if you knew about a- cat swordsman?" Puss clenched his teeth nervously as he finished his sentence.

He knew how the Captain was probably going to react to his question, and regretted it as soon as the words came out.

Silence drifted between the Captain and Puss for a minute, as Puss stared down at the ground in front of him, not wanting to see the Captain's expression. "A cat?" The Captain echoed apart of his question.

"Yes sir," Puss replied quietly. "Uh huh," he stroked his beard thoughtfully briefly, but casually. "And just what makes you think that a cat swordsman can help you any better?" He asked curiously.

Puss couldn't catch any hint of amusement, so he knew that the Captain probably didn't think he was going half as crazy as he had expected him to be. But did he know someone that could help?

"Well senor…. I was just thinking about how difficult it would be for- a human, to teach me how to use a sword, I mean no disrespect when I say this Captain," Puss assured him quickly, before continuing. "But I just thought that maybe if I had a mentor that was more like me, you know, a cat otherwise?" Puss explained, trying to keep his explanation clear, but simple at the same time.

The Captain nodded casually in reply, clearly having something in store for Puss. Puss knew that same mystified expression on his face anywhere. The way his beard twitched, the way his eyebrows were built into a frown, the way he walked, Puss recognized it all. He was wearing the same look that he gave his men, whenever he had something on his mind, something that could help. And that's why his reply didn't surprise Puss.

"Yes…. Yes, I do believe a cat mentor would probably suite you much better than one of my men," The Captain agreed with a nod.

But Puss knew that he wasn't finished.

"But here's where my next question comes in, where do you hope to find one?" He asked Puss curiously.

Puss knew what the Captain was trying to do, just as he always did with his men. It was a test.

A test to test his knowledge and wits. He gazed back at the Captain, wearing the same casual look on his face as he had. He wasn't fooled, even though the Captain had seemed to act like he knew nothing about where a cat swordsman was. He did, and Puss knew it just as well as this Captain did.

"Actually, I was just about to ask you the same thing," Puss replied, narrowing his eyes at the Captain curiously. The Captain did the same thing. After a minute of dead silence, the Captain's expression changed into a smile, as he burst out laughing. Puss grinned at the sight too, and couldn't help chuckling at the sight. The Captain finally stopped, after some rough coughing interrupted his joyful moment.

"Whew, I haven't had a good laugh like that in years, ha, ha…." The Captain said with another laugh, as he wiped a tear of joy from his cheek. "Anywho, I was just toying with you son, you figured me out pretty well." He ruffled the fur on Puss' head briefly, making him lean back nervously, giving a light smile of embarrassment again.

He couldn't help purring at the feel, as he did enjoy the feel of his head being scratched, tough it also embarrassed him at times.

"Captain, I have known you for 17 years, I would think I would know you pretty well by now," Puss reminded him with a shy grin.

"Si, I am aware of that," The Captain replied.

"But anyway, do you know of any cat mentors that can help?" Puss asked, trying to get them back on topic again.

"I suppose that is the question si? Yes, I do know of one," The Captain started.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go, I'm ready right now!" Puss insisted impatiently.

"Whoa, slow down there boy, I'm not finished the Captain told him firmly. Puss let his fur lie straight again, as he acknowledged the Captain with a nod.

"Now listen closely, this cat has not trained anyone in this art for years," he started calmly, "He is old, and is very stubborn about who he picks as an apprentice, and because of this, he is going to try to deny that he is a sword master," The Captain warned.

"So is there any way I can convince him to train me?" Puss asked.

"Well, I have known this man for a while, and he is very particular about whom he picks….. And I have known him in the past very well, so maybe you could try telling him that the Captain sent you. Or you could also tell him, his name: Master Yuan. Then you could confront him about him being a sword mentor," The Captain suggested.

"So are you sure that you still want to go?" He asked Puss cautiously.

"Yes, of course I do!" Puss didn't hesitate to reply.

Whoever this old man was, Puss felt sure he could convince him easily.

The Captain seemed unsure, but soon gave him a gesture to follow. They started down a small stone bridge, as the Captain led the way across to the dirt road again. They passed by a few smaller town houses, along with the General store again, which wasn't that busy at the moment. A few guards were walking by with lit torches, prepared for the soon to come, cold evening. They soon came to a stop at an old, deserted house at the edge of town. The paint on the house had been peeled off from a long period of being decayed, and vines were growing down the sides of the old, eroded house. There were shattered windows; in fact the house had some that didn't have any remaining glass left at all!

"Ugh, this is where that cat lives?" Puss asked with a disgusted look on his face. If this was where he was going to be training, then he'd better not be expected to clean the house during his stay!

"Si, it may not look like Queen Isabella's #1 home in Madrid, but you would be surprised to see where he actually lives, it is quite nice and neat there." The Captain informed him.

"Yeah, right," Puss thought sarcastically as he stepped toward the house's front door.

"And Puss!" The Captain called after him, making him turn his attention back to him.

"Please don't criticize the old man, you won't want to see Yuan when he is angry…." The Captain warned him nervously.

Puss nodded, before continuing onward.

"Angry?" Puss thought amusingly, "Please, he is but an old bag of bones, how dangerous could he possibly be?"

He approached the house boldly, but became more cautious as he started to enter through the front door, aware of its current condition. This doorway hadn't probably been used in years, which meant the rest of the house probably hadn't been used in a while, leading Puss to believing that it could collapse at any given minute. All it took was one, false step…..

He stepped onto the rickety porch slowly, as it creaked loudly under his every footstep. He slipped through the ajar, broken door, being very careful not to touch it as he took his first step onto the first floor. A burst of cold air hit him right in the face, sending shivers up his spine as he gazed around the deserted house. A broken chandelier, hung by two chains instead of three, above a dinner table, which was littered with cobwebs and spider webs, and Puss didn't want to think of what else it could be. There were two flights of stairs, one to his right, and one to the left, leading to the second floor.

"Hello?" He said nervously, only to receive a loud echo in reply, followed by cold, deadly silence. It sent chills up his back again, as he forced himself to take another step forward, sending another loud creak from the floor boards below him. It took almost all of his willpower not to run back outside in fear.

"What is wrong with me?" Puss thought to himself, "I'm a hero, I'm not gonna let some stupid, scary looking house frighten me away, I'm Puss in Boots!"

He took another deep breath, before taking a few more cautious steps up the flight of stairs to the right, sending more creaks from the boards on his every step.

When he reached top of the stairs, something had caught his eye. At the end of the hall, was a dusty display case, just sitting against the wall on a small table. His eyebrows built into a confused frown, as he started approach it curiously, but cautiously.

Once Puss had reached it, he brushed the dust away from the case glass, to reveal a gleaming iron sword, just sitting inside as if it were brand new! The only difference about it, was that its hilt had the head of a snake, with its tiny fangs bared.

He reached toward the case cautiously, until a raspy voice sounded from behind. "Don't touch that boy!"

Puss gasped with panic, as he swiftly turned his attention to the speaker. And no surprise, Puss knew right away that it was him, Master Yuan. The old cat was a black and white tom, with an eye patch covering his right eye, and he also wore a small pair of fancy, black boots. In one of his paws, he clutched a shiny metal cane, which he was using to rest both of his paws on.

"I- I wasn't going to touch or steal anything!" Puss stammered nervously, taking a nervous step back, only to accidently knock over a fancy looking vase. It shattered on impact, causing growl to erupt from the old cat's throat.

"Uh… sorry?" Puss said with a nervous laugh.

"Why are you here, youngster? There is nothing for you here that you could want!" The cat rasped at him crossly.

Puss finally worked up the courage to ask him the one question, the main reason he was there.

"I want to learn how to use a sword," Puss told him firmly, "Can you teach me?"

The old cat just snorted in reply. "A sword?" He broke into raspy laughter, until he became horse not long after.

"You must have me mistaken for someone else, I don't teach such things," The old cat insisted. "Now, why are you really here?"

"I just told you," Puss snapped. "I know who you really are, Master Yuan."

The old cat's ears prickled with surprise at this. "I'm sorry who? You are clearly mistaken, son. "I ain't heard of no cat named, "Yuan," in my fifty five years of living life. Now I'm not gonna ask you twice, leave now!" He growled at Puss.

"The Captain sent me," Puss finally told him, "He told me all about you, and your reputation. You can't hide it any, old man, I know who you are," Puss insisted.

He laughed again, this time louder than usual this time, though it still sounded slightly raspy, before he cleared his throat.

"So the Captain told you all about me then, huh? Guilty as charged then," The old cat admitted, his voice, no longer raspy, but deep.

"Then I want you to teach me," Puss demanded, now becoming impatient.

"Son, you better watch that tone of yours, and learn yourself some manners! They would do you good this time of year!" Yuan snapped at him sharply. "And the answer is no, I will not, teach you."

"What?" Puss voice was full of disbelief. "Why? I can learn just as well as any other human or cat can! Do you doubt my abilities too?" Puss asked angrily.

"Youngster listen to me, I will not teach someone who is undisciplined, and clearly does not have the skill to LEARN, what I have learned. You are unworthy, and disrespectful, and now it is time for you to leave," The old cat told him coldly. But Puss stood in the same spot as he was now standing at, not moving a muscle.

"No." He told him firmly.

"I am not leaving until you teach me, I am worthy!" Puss growled.

He wasn't going to let some old bag of fish bones discourage him, after all what could he do that was, "so dangerous," that it would make him leave? He was practically dead already!

The old master lowered his head for a minute, as he took one paw off his cane. "That's too bad then," he said quietly.

"What?" Puss scoffed.

"Cause now I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson." Yuan looked back up from the ground, as he pulled something out of his cane stick.

Puss was stunned, to see him pull out a long fencing sword, with a dragon hilt! An actual sword!

Before he could react, the old cat lunged at him with surprising speed, as he narrowly dodged a sword strike. Puss rolled to the side, as Yuan swiped at him again with his sword, and then leapt onto the railing, watching Yuan very closely, his fur bristling alarmingly.

"Are you crazy?! Stop!" Puss shouted at him.

"Not until you've learned your lesson, you naughty cat," Yuan growled as he lunged at him with fury again, just as Puss leapt above, landing back onto the ground on all fours.

He thought quickly, as he ripped open the display case, and pulled out the snake hilted sword. Turning his attention back to Yuan, he took a deep breath, readying his sword on him carefully. Puss thought back to how the guards readied their swords, with their shoulders lined up high, backs straight, and arms outstretched, with a firm grip on the handle.

"Please let me tell me I'm doing this right," Puss thought nervously.

Yuan grinned at this, readying his sword as well. "A duel it shall be." He walked casually around in a circle, as Puss did the same thing in the same, casual motion. Yuan dropped his guard briefly. "Tell you what youngster, if you win, then I will teach you how to use that thing properly," Yuan suggested, "And if I win, then you better be on your merry way," He growled.

Puss nodded in agreement, readying his sword determinedly, bracing himself for a brutal attack.

Instead, he made the first move, as he ran forward at Yuan recklessly, only to have his heavy blow harmlessly side stepped, and was kneed it the face by Yuan. Puss rolled to the side just as he was about to pin him down, lunging at his now vulnerable opponent. Just as he did this Yuan deflected his blow with one hand, and deflected his other few blows with ease, before throwing him off balance with a hard push, kicking Puss back from him a good few feet.

"You anger will only result in your ultimate demise," Yuan taunted him with a smirk. "A real swordsman requires patience to win a battle, something you clearly don't have," He mocked.

Puss snarled with rage, but didn't try to attack. This time, he readied himself in a defense stance, as he slowly stepped onto the railing behind him. Yuan leaped onto the railing, slowly taking one step with each paw carefully, as he kept his tail off the rail. Puss mimicked his actions, until Yuan finally took a swipe at him, as Puss barely deflected the sudden attack, clashing back with a counter attack aimed at his legs, only to find himself knocked off balance again. Yuan swiftly stepped on his tail, sending a yowl of pain from Puss, as he fell back onto the second floor, but leaped to the side, just as Yuan jumped onto the spot where he used to be. Puss clashed multiple times with Yuan again, hitting harder, and harder, and harder, until Yuan managed to knock his sword arm out of the way, and hook his blade through his handle, then forced the sword out of Puss' hand, high up into the wall behind him. Yuan kicked him against the wall, readying his sword again for another strike.

Puss took a swift glance above him, eying the sword stuck in the wall high above him, then turned his attention back to his opponent.

And just and Yuan brought his blade down, it stuck itself right into the wall, just as Puss narrowly dodged it.

At the last second, Puss propelled himself off the stuck sword, ran along the wall, (10FT off the ground) grabbed his sword, and leaped right behind Yuan, readying his blade tip against the back of the Master's neck.

Yuan stopped moving once he felt the blade, his eyes widening with disbelief. He couldn't believe how fast he had been outsmarted by this cat!

Puss couldn't believe it either. "I- I win!" Puss exclaimed with disbelief, as he lowered his sword.

The minute he did this, the master grabbed his paws, slammed him over his back onto the ground, then forced the sword out of his hands, readying it on Puss, who was now the one immobilized. "Hey! I won fair and square!" Puss protested.

"Even when your enemy may seem weak at times, you have never truly won, until your opponent is dead," The old master told him, purring with amusement. "Consider this a lesson learned."

"So what? I have to leave now? Is that It?" Puss asked, feeling frustrated again. He already knew the answer, as he gazed down at the ground shamefully.

But the next sentence, shocked him.

"No."

"What?" Puss asked confusingly.

"I will not make you leave. You have shown me enough skill, that you are worthy of becoming a swordsman." Yuan explained. "That fight, was partially a test of whether or not you were good enough. I have never had one of my students outwit me before on their first time, let alone a teenager student," He said with amusement. "So does this mean-" Puss couldn't believe what he was starting to hear.

"Yes, youngster, I would be honored to take you as my apprentice." Master Yuan told him warmly.

Puss couldn't find the ability to speak, as he stayed on the ground.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" The old master offered his hand to Puss. "Let's get to that training!"

* * *

**I don't really have much to say... it's 3AM right now, and I am about to die. (I'm over exaggerating) XD But anyways, I hope you enoyed this HUGE chapter that I cooked up for you.**

**Chapter 6 preview: Puss starts his training with Yuan, where he learns a few things of his mentors mysterious past... Puss meets up with Cloud later, where Clovis pays another charming visit, causing further tensions between the two males...**


	6. A Tom Cat with Secrets

**Here's chapter 6! You will learn a few things from this chapter, and will get a little of each genre out of it. **

**Not really much else to say, just enjoy the story! ;D**

**And be sure to review please!**

* * *

T**he following day later….**

Puss had finally found the sword mentor he had been looking for, though he wasn't all he had expected him to be. He was just training with his old master, listening to his advice and remarks as he did this….

* * *

"When you think of the sword, you should think of it not as a piece of sharp steel, but as an extension of your body," Yuan was explaining, as Puss followed his slow moments.

Puss extended his sword outward from his body, slicing through the air. "You mean like an extra long arm?" Puss asked curiously.

"If that is how you would like to see it, then yes," Yuan replied calmly.

Silence crossed between the two, before Puss stopped in the middle of one of his exercises. "Master, is their somewhere we can actually TRAIN at, then just in this ugly looking place?" Puss asked with a sigh of frustration, looking around at the unstable structure around him.

His Master hadn't shown him the supposedly, "Nice looking place," yet, and Puss was getting tired of training on air, even though he had only been there for about 10 minutes.

Yuan did a slight face palm in response, as he walked over to a dusty bookshelf in the corner of the room.

"You youngsters still need to learn some patience," he muttered.

Puss watched with amazement, as the master pulled a red book from the shelf, causing a stone wall beside it to slide open slowly. A dark stairway appeared in its place, leading down into the unknown.

"But I suppose we have delayed this moment long enough," Yuan finished, while gesturing for Puss to follow.

Puss nearly tripped on the first step as he stumbled after Yuan in the pitch black darkness, which was only illuminated by the dim light that came from where he had entered from. He started to feel colder and colder with each step he took. After struggling down the cold, unforgiving darkness, he could finally start to see his feet again, as a dim light glowed near the bottom of the stairs. As Puss started to near the bottom, he soon found that the strange light was a torch. Yuan had just reached the bottom beside him. An old, cat sized doorway was now illuminated by the torch in front of Puss, who stared at it curiously. Yuan glanced back at Puss, then gestured for him to try to doorknob. Puss just shrugged, and attempted to open the door, but the knob wouldn't budge.

"It's locked," Puss said bluntly.

"Uh huh, and how do think we should proceed to unlock it?" Yuan asked in the same tone, widening his eyebrows in a mysterious way.

"A key?" Puss asked amusingly.

Did this old man think he was stupid? Or was he simply joking with him?

A grin appeared on Yuan's face, as he shook his head in reply, before taking his dragon hilted sword. That's when Puss noticed the odd shaped keyhole in the door.

Yuan flipped his sword around to the hilt side, and slightly pushed the dragon hilt into the keyhole, before a click sounded.

Puss' eyes widened with surprise and disbelief. He didn't want to admit it, but he was impressed. This old cat clearly had lots of others tricks up his sleeves and more experience then he could ever hope to learn in one year, yet he was still surprised at the way he improvised so well with the door keyhole.

"How did you do that?" Puss asked, while gazing at the door with amazement as it slowly opened.

Yuan just glanced back at him with another mysterious grin, grabbing the torch, which now illuminated his entire face, including the black eye patch.

"You're about to find out," He told Puss, before disappearing through the wooden doorway.

Puss followed Yuan through the doorway to find the remains of a stone staircase in front of him, leading up to a small, dancing, orange light just near the top. The staircase was broken all the way up, except for a few loosely attached floor boards at what used to be the top of it. The railings and other floor boards were broken and scattered around the stone room Puss was in, and it looked as if they had been smashed, or somehow collapsed. Around Puss, were just plain stone walls, almost cave like. The only thing decorating the walls were large fainted red banners, with the picture of a Dragon's head on the center of it, along with two swords crossed behind it. The fabric of some of the banners were ripped, dusty, or decayed because of the amount of time they had been there. Puss' eyes trailed around the deserted room, until his eyes rested on the destroyed staircase, leading to who knows where.

"What is this place?" Puss asked.

"My home," Yuan answered with a long sigh, "Beautiful isn't it?"

Puss rolled his eyes with sarcasm. "Uh…. Not exactly, but if you say so."

He had expected to find a much cleaner place like the Captain had said, but did this place look clean? No. It looked more like a burial crypt then a fancy looking home. But the Captain was right about one thing. It definitely wasn't Queen Isabella's home in Madrid, not by a long shot.

"Follow me, I think it's time I showed you just who I really am," Yuan told him.

He got on all fours, and took one giant leap, landing him at the top of the stairs with ease. Puss tried the jump this time, barely managing to make it on, but by some miracle he had managed to get a solid grip, thanks to his claws. After shaking a layer of dust away, Puss started to follow Yuan again.

"Who are YOU?" Puss repeated, showing that he was wondering that very same thing.

This sword master clearly wasn't all who he seemed to be, knowing his way around things like this, including secrets doors, with secret keyholes. There had to be more to him that meets the eye, Puss could just feel it in his gut. And as he followed Yuan into the next room, he realized he was more than right.

The light that he had seen from the bottom of the stairs had come from a small fire pit, which was set under a large chimney. But that wasn't what he was paying attention to.

The large room had the same red banners on the wooden walls, like the ones he had seen downstairs, except they looked well cleaned, with much clearer details. Around the room were weapon rackets with all sorts of swords and daggers attached to them, all custom looking, some having special hilts. The display cases held a few well maintained and looked after swords, which looked like they had never been touched before. The wooden floors had royal looking carpeting all around the cases and the room, which was fairly furnished and cleaned. A throne sat at the end of the room in the middle, with a few, cat sized book shelves on each neighboring side of it. One comfy looking mat lie behind one of the bookshelves, with many scattered heavy blankets all over it, along with a red banner hanging down in front of the mat. The thing that seemed to grab Puss' attention from the scene, was the small, black musketeer hat with the yellow feather hanging off the side of the throne.

Puss' almost lost his meow at the sight of the room, as he let out a deep, shaky breath.

"Who are you?" Puss asked his master hesitantly.

He wanted to know the answer, now more than ever.

Yuan put up his paw for a brief moment to silence him, as he walked toward the throne casually. He picked up the hat from the throne and out it on with a spin, before grabbing something tucked away under it. A black cape. Yuan took a moment to stitch it on, before grabbing his sword cane, then walked back over to Puss.

"Allow me to introduce you to the, "real me." Master Yuan Shao, one of the last cat swordsmen of Spain, and one of the last surviving members of the Dragon Clan." Yuan told him with a bow.

"The Dragon Clan?" Puss echoed. "What the heck is that supposed to be?"

Yuan walked over to one of the banners in silence, staring at the image of the dragon.

"It was where I used to belong, and where I trained to become a sword master for nearly a decade. The Dragon Clan consisted of 10 masters, who were all cats," Yuan explained, "And now I am the last, or at least one of them." He said with a grave edge to his voice.

"So do you like, you know, have any enemies?" Puss asked curiously.

Yuan continued to stare at the banner blankly. "We did. That sword that you used on me yesterday with the snake hilt, once belonged to one of my rivals from the Snake Clan, Dragon Clan's greatest enemy." Yuan informed him.

"Why were you guys rivals?" Puss asked, starting to get intrigued with the subject.

"That, is something I do not know of," Yuan replied, "The Snake Clan has just been our natural enemies. Only the first leaders would have known why their rivalry with us was so great." Yuan told him, his gaze darkening, as if he were looking into the past.

The old master cleared his throat, before walking over to the throne. "Now, this is where you will be training every week. I expect to see you here 5 days a week, no exceptions," He told Puss sharply, now changing the subject. "If you want to learn from the best, then you have to act, like the best. That's my philosophy, and it would do you some good to listen to it."

Puss stared around the room, not listening to a word he was saying. Instead, he was examining a small painting on the wall, of a black and white kitten. It was tucked in a white blanket, its blue eyes glowing happily.

"Youngster, are you listening to a word I am saying?!" The old master asked sternly.

"Uh- er- yes sir!" Puss quickly straightened himself, his eyes fixed right on the speaker.

"What were you staring into space for? Huh?" Yuan asked him with a suspicious glare.

"I- I was just wondering who was in that portrait," Puss stammered nervously.

Yuan glanced in the direction of the kitten, his fur starting to lie straight again.

"My daughter," He replied bluntly, but quietly.

"Where is she?" Puss asked.

"I never knew her," Yuan told him, his head lowered.

"Then how could you know how she-"

"Do have any more questions other than about my daughter?" Yuan snapped suddenly, his fur bristling and his teeth bared.

The sudden fearsome image of his mentor shocked Puss. He was acting so protective about the subject of his daughter…. But why? But Puss soon figured it was none of his business, though he couldn't help but wonder about it.

"N- No master," Puss stammered, lowering his head with shame.

Yuan closed his eyes briefly, as his fur flattened again, probably realizing how suddenly defensive he had acted over the subject.

"I apologize for my sudden anger toward you," Yuan said silently with a dip of his head.

"Now…. Where was I?" He wondered for a minute, obviously struggling to remember something. "Oh yes, your outfit," He muttered, before walking over to his throne briefly.

He pulled out a chest from under it, and retrieved a few things from it before closing the chest and replacing it back under the throne.

Puss could see three different items in his arms. A belt, another black cape, and a hat, but with no feather like his master's hat had.

"Put these on," Yuan muttered stubbornly.

It had only taken Puss a minute to put his full outfit on. He examined the hat, looking for the feather.

"Hey, why don't I get a feather like you?" Puss complained.

"You need to earn it first," Yuan told him without hesitation. "If you want a feather, then you need to show me you have what it takes to be a true swordsman, starting tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? I thought we were training today!" Puss pointed out.

"No, I said I would SHOW you the training place. You take the rest of today off, but be good. I will come get you tomorrow for your first assignment tomorrow," Master Yuan told him. "So run along now, boy, I bet you got better things to do other than sit here and listen to an old man ramble on," Yuan muttered.

"So I can go then?" Puss asked with surprise.

"Yes, go on, get out of here!" Yuan made a shooing motion with his paw, sending Puss darting out the door.

He sighed with amusement, watching his pupil depart. Yuan just knew that Puss was going to make a fine swordsman one day, it was only a matter of time…..

And patience.

* * *

Puss walked out the door of the deserted house, now starting his way back home. But he wasn't surprised to see Cloud, waiting right outside for him next to a large tree. She ran towards Puss at the sight of him.

"There you are! I thought the Captain had cooked you for dinner for sure! What were you doing in the old, abandoned house?" Cloud asked, gazing at his body from his feet to his face. "And what's with the- outfit?"

Puss couldn't read her expression, which made him slightly nervous about what she actually thought about the things he was wearing.

"It's my new hero outfit," Puss quickly replied, not being able to think of anything else. "Do you like it?" He asked.

In his mind, his thoughts were totally different. "She hates it! She totally hates! I look absolutely ridiculous in this outfit!" Puss thought, doing a face palm in his head.

"I think it looks awesome on you."

"Wait- what?" Puss asked, slightly confused.

"What do you mean what? I think the whole thing looks great on you!" Cloud exclaimed. "I think it makes you look more….. Handsome."

Puss' ears pricked with surprise. "You do? Really?"

"Of course. I think you are," Cloud told him with a smile.

"Thanks." Puss replied with a shy laugh.

Again, he could feel it again. The strange thing that made him start to move closer to her. Their faces drew closer and closer, their mouths almost touching, but Puss hesitated at the last moment.

Why did he keep feeling this way around her? Was it right for him to get so close? Would she like it? Did she feel the same way about him?

All this questions popped up in his head, which made his worry about how she would react if he continued doing this. C

loud sighed with stress. "Their it is again," she muttered under her breath.

"What?" Puss asked, starting to feel he had made her unhappy with his actions.

He was starting to feel confused. Whenever he got close to Cloud, she hesitated. Whenever Cloud got close to him, HE hesitated. So why did they keep acting this way towards each other?

"Never mind, it's nothing," Cloud said swiftly. "Let's just go-"

They were interrupted by a low voice behind them. "What are you two doing?"

It was Clovis.

"Nothing that concerns you," Puss growled.

Throughout his 6 years of knowing Clovis, he and Cloud had been constantly bullied by him. Puss suddenly felt it was time to end that, right here, right now.

"Yeah, and what might that be? Taking her as a mate?" Clovis spat back.

"What?" Puss asked with a laugh. "We are FRIENDS Clovis, which you are nowhere close to getting with me, or her," Puss insisted. "So back off, NOW."

"Or what?" Clovis challenged, getting in Puss' face.

"Clovis stop it!" Cloud protested.

"Not until he answers my question first," Clovis demanded.

Puss gripped his sword eagerly. "Or I'm going to have to each you a lesson."

Clovis went wide eyed at the sentence, then let out a laugh.

"Wait a minute, I know what is going on here. You want to fight me, so that you can get Cloud all to yourself, when I don't push you around anymore so that way you can mate with her without having deal with a challenge. Isn't that right?" Clovis asked, now glaring at Puss through narrowed eyes.

"No," Puss said firmly. "Now I won't ask you again Clovis, leave, before I make you."

Clovis hissed with rage as he readied his back legs for a pounce. But Cloud got in between before he could.

"I said stop, both of you!" Cloud shouted. "Clovis, I'm with Puss, leave before I get the captain, NOW," Cloud stated firmly.

Clovis just scoffed with disbelief, shaking his head with a chuckle. "You just don't get it do you? You are mine Cloud…. Forever! And there is nothing you can do about it!" Clovis swore before disappearing down the road.

"What were you going to do with that sword?" Cloud demanded once Clovis was gone.

"Cloud I wasn't-"

"Oh sure, that explains why you were ready to take it out of the sheathe! Puss, you can't just go around intimidating people just because you got named a hero! Clovis is a jerk, but that doesn't give you the right to kill him! Puss what were you thinking?" Cloud asked him with disbelief, her fur bristling.

"Cloud-" Puss tried to get her attention, but Cloud walked away from him, down the dirt road.

"Whatever Puss," she replied carelessly.

Puss stopped in his tracks, sighing with frustration as he put his head in his paws. He kicked the dirt hard with one foot, frustrated and furious about the stupid move he had made on Clovis.

"I wasn't going to kill Clovis! How could Cloud dare think that about me?" Puss thought angrily."Fine, she can think what she wants."

For all he knows she probably didn't care one bit about him now!

Puss started down the road after a moment, furious, but satisfied at the same time.

But little did he know, Cloud did care about him still….. A lot more then he could have ever imagined. Even after 3, long years… Puss was about to experience something that he had had never felt before. Love.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. You obviously know what to expect next chapter. All I will say is... Romance. That's all you need you know. Yeah you get it. XD**

**Chapter 7: Puss, now at age 20 has been training alongside his mentor Yuan for a long while now in San Ricardo. Despite Puss' smooth progress in his training, Yuan is not happy with one thing: His friendship with Cloud. Yuan insists that she will only get in the way of his training, but Puss goes highly against his mentor's order, when Cloud reveals her true feelings for Puss... **


	7. New Feelings

**I hope I didn't keep any of you waiting, for those of you who were looking for chapter 7. ;D I know it is a short chapter, but I know most of you will like this one... especially all those romance lovers out there too. XD**

* * *

**Three Years later…..**

Puss crept into the old building, leading to Yuan's hideout. He casually walked the rest of the way until he reached the second floor, his footsteps creaking with every step.

Puss was now used to the creaking, as he had been inside this place at least a thousand times for about three years now. The old building apparently wasn't as unstable as Puss had once thought it had been, but despite this he continued to be cautious.

During the three years he had been training, Yuan has always said he was doing well, yet not good enough to earn the feather for his hat. Puss had worked extra hard, struggled to master the basics and succeeded, yet he was being told that he hadn't earned it yet!

Puss opened the secret entrance beside the bookshelf, taking a torch with him as her continued down the dark stairway. After reaching the bottom, he placed the torch on the metal holder, so he could use it on his way back up. He took out his sword, and pushed his new dragon hilt into the keyhole of the wooden door. A moment later it slid open for him, as Puss continued onward, closing the door behind him. And sure enough, there was the destroyed staircase he had expected to find, charming as ever. He leapt to the top on all fours, standing back up as he approached Yuan's hideout. He didn't see the old master at first, until he eyes rested upon the throne. Yuan's eyes were closed, but Puss knew that he was awake.

"You're not asleep are you master?" Puss asked with amusement.

Yuan's eyes opened slowly, gazing back up at his pupil.

"No, I'm not asleep you fool!" He said as he cuffed his apprentice playfully, but sharply over the ear, making Puss chuckle.

He had to admit, Yuan may be an old man, but he sure did have a sense of humor.

"So, what are we going to do today, Master?" Puss asked curiously, taking his sword out of his sheathe, giving it a few test swings.

"I have something I need to talk to you about first," Yuan insisted.

Puss sheathed his sword at his mentor's request. What did his master want to tell him, that he couldn't possibly have asked him about already?

"Is something wrong senor?" Puss asked.

"You know what's wrong," Yuan replied in a serious tone.

"Uh…. Could you be a little clearer?" Puss requested.

"That white she cat," Yuan responded, starting to get annoyed.

"You mean Cloud?" Puss asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes, if that is her name," his master replied swiftly.

"What's wrong with Cloud? She hasn't done anything wrong!" Puss insisted.

"You don't see it?" The old cat replied.

"What? Master, she is just a friend if that's what you are implying!" Puss told him, starting to also get annoyed.

First Clovis, then Humpty, and now Yuan thinks that she is his girlfriend! Why did everyone have to think that they were so close to each other?

Puss knew what the word girlfriend meant, but he didn't understand the feeling that caused it as well.

"Cloud may be your friend, but she will not stay that way forever. I see the way you two act around each other, don't think I can't see it! She will only distract you and get in the way of training, and if you want any chance of earning a feather, I am afraid that you have to end your friendship with Cloud," The old master explained.

Puss couldn't believe what he was hearing, as his eyes widened with disbelief. "What ?!"

"You want any chance of becoming a hero? Any chance at all?" Yuan asked loudly.

Puss nodded sadly in reply.

"Then you know what you have to do! I'm sorry Puss, but she will only get in the way in the future, you have to understand this. The sooner you understand, the better," Yuan explained more quietly, but firmly. "I want you to become a great swordsman, but that cannot be achieved if she keeps distracting you, is that clear?"

"I- I understand senor…." Puss lowered his head with sadness, gazing down at the ground in defeat.

"Now I want you to go out back and warm up on your sword form. I want you back here in no less than an hour," Yuan ordered.

"Yes master." Puss dipped his head in acknowledgment, before disappearing into the darkness.

* * *

Puss swung his sword across the wooden dummy swiftly, slicing in straight across the neck. He continued delivering heavy and brutal blows to the dummy's chest, not stopping to take a breath.

He was too angry to stop, he hated his master for what he had dared to tell him to do, but daren't go against his master's orders. They were only friends! Why did everybody else not see it that way?

Just as he was thinking about the topic, Puss could feel Cloud's presence behind him. But he kept swinging his sword as if she weren't there.

"Are you okay Puss?" Cloud asked worryingly, noticing how angered he looked.

Despite this, Puss continued to attack the dummy brutally, painfully ignoring her voice.

"Puss, are you just going to sit their swinging that thing all day?" Cloud asked, starting to get annoyed as she frowned at him.

Again, Puss just kept attacking the wooden dummy.

Finally, Cloud walked up to him from behind, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Would you stop for one minute and say something to me?!" Cloud demanding, starting to become very concerned and angry.

Puss finally stopped swinging his sword, not being able to ignore her anymore. And with a deep sigh, he explained the reason behind his actions.

"Yuan doesn't want us to be friends," Puss told her, sadness in his eyes. "He thinks that we are- you know," Puss explained reluctantly.

Cloud leaned in closer to him, with a longing look in her eyes.

"Do you feel that way about me?" She asked him silently.

But Puss hesitated, taking a step back from her nervously, though he could feel that same attraction again. "Cloud I- I don't know what to say…."

Puss could feel himself drifting off awkwardly.

"I know why we have been acting that way around each other, all these years now Puss," Cloud told him softly, taking a step forward again. "I have seen the hesitation in your eyes, yet you feel like you want to," Cloud insisted, feeling along his face with one of her paws softly. "I feel the same way around you."

"What are we feeling?" Puss whispered, feeling himself getting drawn into her eyes.

"I'll show you," Cloud told him quietly back, her mouth almost touching his. But at the last second she slightly moved it back.

"But you need to stop hesitating," she said softly.

Puss relaxed himself, as he pushed himself closer to her, their lips starting to touch. He pecked her lightly on the mouth a few times, feeling his heart beat much faster than normal. Finally he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the mouth passionately and repeatedly. They purred loudly with affection as Puss swapped around with her, pushing her up against a wall, while continuing to kiss her wildly with affection.

He knew what he had been feeling all this time now: Love.

"I love you Cloud," Puss purred as they kissed.

"I know... I feel the same way," She replied, as he continued to kiss her deeply. They tails swished rapidly and excitedly as Cloud felt around his orange fur, enjoying the feel of him, as Puss did the same with her. He could feel a strange urge growing inside him as he did this.

They continued to kiss through the whole hour, forging a strong love between both of the felines.

* * *

And watching the scene with anger, was Clovis. He glared at them both with anger and disbelief, before disappearing out of sight. "That Orange furball will pay for what he has done to me!" He thought with rage as he slipped away. "HE WILL PAY!"

* * *

**Again, I know it was a short chapter, and I apologize because of that. However, I hope you enjoyed the romance I added this chapter. :) But the chapters will come back to normal after this, I assure you. A large one is coming up next.**

**Chapter 8 preview: Puss meets with Yuan the next day, where he is finally given a assignment to prove his skills. Yuan aldo takes him to a place that all cats favor as a haven, and during their visit their, Yuan teaches him the adult side of being a cat along the way, where Puss starts to understand his feelings for Cloud... and the sudden urge he now has around female cats.**

**REVIEWS are much appreciated! **


	8. The Cat Cantina

**For those of you that were waiting for this chapter, sorry for the long delay! Again, I have been busy with other things, but I hope this chapter makes up for the delay! Enjoy! :D**

* * *

**The next day later…**

It was a warm and sunny day today, just the way Puss liked it. He lie propped against a large tree, waiting patiently for his Mentor to arrive. The Orphanage was still right behind him, standing as tall as it always had been the day he had been put there. But Puss hadn't been alone under that tree, for the short amount of time he had been there. Cloud sat beside him, scrunched up close to him. They faces were both closed in, kissing each other lightly on the lips. They both stopped briefly to breathe, resting against the tree.

"You know you have to go soon," Puss reminded her softly.

Cloud gave him another kiss on the mouth, starting to slowly push herself closer to him.

"How much longer do we have?" She whispered back.

"Maybe a few more minutes," Puss replied.

"Then why don't we make these few minutes worth it?" Cloud said, as they started to kiss again.

After a few minutes of that, Puss stopped briefly, clearing having something on his mind.

"What's wrong?" His girlfriend asked him affectionately.

"You know how my master would react if he found out what we were doing yesterday, in the training yard," Puss replied, feeling along her soft, white paws. "I'm just worried he will find out….."

Cloud felt along his orange chest fur, kissing him lightly on the mouth.

"He won't find out Puss," Cloud insisted, "And if he does, I'm sure he will understand."

And with that, they continued to kiss passionately, as Cloud moaned with pleasure when Puss deepened the kiss. But he quickly cut it off when he saw Yuan's yellow feather, appear just below the hill.

"He's here!" Puss frantically whispered.

They both giggled as they noticed the awkward position they were in after he had made the kiss deeper. Cloud scrambled out of it, giving Puss one last kiss on the lips.

"Don't keep me waiting," she purred tauntingly, before disappearing from sight.

Puss blushed at this, but quickly hid his expression, as his master approached him. Puss quickly fixed his ruffled fur with a quick groom, standing up from the ground attentively.

"Good morning my apprentice," Yuan greeted him casually, but firmly. "Staying out of trouble I hope?"

"Yes master!" Puss replied in his best serious tone.

He was afraid the wise master would catch whiff of a lie, but Yuan didn't seem to pick up a single thing.

"I also expect that you have learned quite a lot from that training yesterday?" Yuan asked.

"Yes Yuan, indeed," Puss replied.

It was true, he had been training that day, just not in the arts Yuan had been teaching him about…

"Good, you will need that for what we are about to do next," Yuan replied, satisfied.

"What would that be master?" Puss asked casually.

At the question being asked, Yuan pulled out a few scrolls from his belt, a total of 3, and unraveled them on the ground. As Puss examined each scroll closely, he now understood what they were: Wanted posters.

* * *

**The wanted posters**

**1. Kitty Softpaws: 18 year old she cat and thief, wanted for 3,000 gold coins for MAJOR cases of stealing in Italy and Spain, including the theft of the infamous Mona Lisa. Alluring menace, and considered armed and very dangerous.**

**2. The White Spirit: A 20 year old she cat, thief and con artist, wanted for 5,000 gold coins, for Major cases of thievery, assault, and stealing money from false lovers. (Male cats otherwise) VERY dangerous, and not to be engaged directly.**

**3. Scar: A 21 year old male cat, wanted for 2,000 gold coins, for major cases of assault. Armed, and extremely dangerous and ruthless.**

* * *

"What are these for?" Puss asked confusingly, pointing to the posters.

"I've decided that you are ready for your first REAL, assignment," Yuan started.

"FINALLY!" Puss thought with satisfaction as he gazed down at the posters.

For 3 long years he had been training hard, waiting for a chance like this to show his skills. And now here he was, being told all about it.

"I want you to pick one of them," Yuan told him.

"Why?" Puss asked, slightly nervous that he knew what the answer was going to be.

His master looked him back in the eye, well, with his good eye. "Because we are going to capture ourselves a criminal."

Puss gazed back down at the posters, slightly nervous about his choice. He had never been outside San Ricardo before, let alone out of the main gate. And not only that, here he was, about to pick some criminal that he was about to go after! Sure, he had always wanted to be a hero, capture some villains, but now that he was about to do the real thing, it sounded very risky. However, his opinion changed when he saw one of the criminals: The White Spirit. When he thought about her, he knew that she couldn't possibly be that dangerous, could she? She sounded like a very tricky woman, but other than that, how could she possibly cause any trouble for him? Puss felt sure he could handle her very easily, but was she going to be his choice?

He looked over to Scar, sending a chill up his spine at the description. There was NO way that he would be his choice. So that left two. Either this "Kitty Softpaws cat" or The White Spirit. When he thought about it, Kitty did sound easier, but the other one had the larger reward. So at that moment, he knew what his choice would be.

"I'll go with that one." Puss pointed to the poster in the center of the three.

"Are you sure?" Yuan asked him cautiously, eying him as if telling him to reconsider.

"Yes master," Puss replied simply.

Yuan's expression suddenly softened at his answer. "Okay."

Puss frowned at his. "Okay? That's it?" Puss asked, slightly surprised.

He had expected Yuan to say something else, judging from the way he had been looking at him, but he hadn't bothered to budge.

Yuan simply shrugged in reply. "What? I asked you to choose, and you did, what do you want me to say, boy?" He asked firmly.

Puss stayed silent in reply.

"Good," Yuan replied, suddenly starting down the hill.

Puss darted after the surprisingly fast old man, nearly tripping over an old tree stump.

"Where are we going?" He asked frantically.

"A place I should have taken you when I had the chance," Yuan responded bluntly.

"Are we going outside San Ricardo, Master?" Puss asked.

"No, now stop with the questions! I will explain when we get there!" Yuan snapped, making Puss shut his mouth.

* * *

About an hour later, they soon arrived at a dark alley. The disgusting smell of trash filled Puss' nostrils. The sounds of rats squeaking occasionally sounded from the darker corners on the short alley. As Puss and Yuan continued down it, Puss could start to hear the faint sound of music coming from around the corner, getting louder as they reached it. As they turned the corner Puss found himself face to face with two wooden double doors. Music sounded loudly from inside, followed by a few voices and laughs.

"Master…. What is this place?" Puss asked, staring at Yuan with wonder.

Yuan looked back at his apprentice briefly with his one good eye, grinning mysteriously.

"A place I should have taken you a long time ago," He replied.

The master walked right up to both of the doors and pushed both of them open with his arms, as Puss stepped in behind him. A ray of blinding light hit him in the face, as the loud sound of guitar music flooded his ears. When his eyes finally adjusted, he realized it was only coming from lanterns. But he was amazed at what he was seeing.

Cats. Everywhere! There were all sorts of cats, white cats, striped cats, spotted cats, ANY cat you could think of. Some looked like travelers, wearing boots, belts, even hats! Others were armed with swords or rarely, a cat sized flintlock. Many were sitting around laughing and talking loudly as they watched two twin male cats play guitars on the stage, side by side. Just about every cat was drinking milk, or some other drink Puss couldn't recognize. They were mostly sitting at tables, or on stools.

"I haven't seen this many cats in my life!" Puss thought with amazement.

Yuan stepped in front of him.

"Puss, my apprentice, welcome to the Glitter box!" He shouted joyfully over the music.

"What is this place?" Puss asked again with amazement.

"It's a Cat Cantina of course, you have not lived your life as a cat until you have been to one," Master Yuan informed him.

"Now follow me, I want you to meet someone." Yuan's tail flickered for him to follow, as he made his way to the bartender's counter.

They took seats at some nearby stools a few minutes later. Puss took a glance at the two male cats on the stage.

"Who are they?" he asked curiously.

Yuan glanced back at what he was looking at, frowning at the sight of them.

"The Rodriguez brothers," A voice answered behind them both, slightly startling Puss.

He looked behind him to find himself face to face with a muscular black tom cat, with long whiskers. Yuan smiled at the sight of him.

They both started laughing as the two embraced each other briefly.

"Raul, you old fool where have you been?" Yuan asked, ruffling the fur on his head playfully.

"Who are you calling an old fool, Yuan?" The black tom replied with a laugh, patting him on the back.

"Anyhow, I'm doing fine, how about you old friend?" He asked in his normal, deep voice.

"I'm doing fine thanks." Yuan replied.

"Who's the young lad you brought with yah today?" Raul asked curiously, smiling at Puss' presence.

Yuan glanced back at his young pupil beside him.

"Ah, I forgot to mention him. Raul, this is my new apprentice Puss," Yuan said.

"Good to meet you, son," Raul said in a friendly tone, sticking his paw out to Puss.

Puss took his paw, smiling shyly. "You as well sir," Puss responded politely.

"Such manners," Raul complicated, his eye lighting up. "Yuan I got to say, old friend, even after all these years, you sure know how to pick a good apprentice."

Puss rolled his eyes at the conversation when Raul wasn't looking, earning a glare from his master.

The only reason he had been acting polite at all, was because his master had insisted that he act this around other people, because, "respect," was soooooooo important. Puss was nice to people often and did use manners, but there were times when he didn't feel he had to use them, EVERY TIME he was referring to someone. His master's lifestyle frustrated Puss at times. He had taught Puss to use the manners, yet he NEVER seemed to use them himself! For Puss, he thought it was typical of Yuan to be that way, yet there were things Puss wished he knew about his mysterious mentor. For the few moments he had spent, watching him laugh and catch up with his old friend, Puss felt he was seeing a whole new side of Yuan. He never acted this friendly, and didn't seem to have much of a sense of humor, though at certain times, he seemed to show Puss that he did have one. What had happened in his master's past that had made him shut down in that old house so easily? Did it have something to do with what happened to his daughter? Or was it something else Puss just couldn't see? These were questions Puss had for three years, as he trained alongside him. But questions that would probably never be answered.

"Hey Raul." Yuan's voice drew Puss back from his thoughts.

"Could you please get this cat a milk?" He asked, starting to take out a coin pouch.

"Hey, put away the coin pouch, the milk's on me," Raul insisted.

Yuan nodded in acknowledgement, putting away the coin pouch. He gave Raul a wink, before the bartender disappeared through a wooden door. Puss felt suspicious about this gesture, but didn't say anything.

"Is he good friend or something?" Puss asked, already knowing the answer.

"Who Raul? Yeah, if that's whatcha want to call him. Raul was one of my dearest friends in my younger years, who I did teach sword training to. One of my first pupils as well," Yuan added. "He and I have been through a lot together in the past, doing all sorts of contracts and missions together. Good man, that black cat."

"Sounds like you two really hit it off nice," Puss remarked, paying half attention to the two cats playing guitars on the stage.

"Ha, not all the time," Yuan responded with a laugh. "The one thing I used to not like about Raul was that he always took all the she cats! That Raul….. quite a ladies' man he is."

Puss' ears stood up in surprise. "Really? Raul was?" He asked.

"Yep, a cat like him, you wouldn't think would attract all the she cats, but he did," Yuan told him.

But as he finished the sentence, Puss could detect a sense of longingness or guilt in his voice, as if he missed something.

Or someone.

But again, Puss stayed silent, keeping his thoughts concealed. "It's probably nothing," Puss thought to himself.

After a minute passed by, Raul soon returned with his wooden cup of milk. He set it on the counter in front of his paws, as Puss turned around in his stool.

"Thanks," He said to Raul, before chugging the milk, not thinking twice about it.

Or rather, what was in it.

Smiles started to appear on Raul and Yuan's faces, as Puss finished the milk. As he swallowed the last sip of milk, he could feel a strange and energetic, but good feeling pulse through his veins, as if he was running a marathon.

"Wha- what did you put in this?" Puss stammered, as a strange flavor started to appear on his tongue.

"That my boy, is catnip, good huh?" Raul asked with a grin.

"Yeah…. What exactly is it?" Puss asked curiously.

"Well…..…Let's just say it's something that makes us cats hyper," Raul responded, as if it were complicated to explain.

"But you shouldn't give it to younger cats, they can't handle it like us adult cats can," Yuan told him from behind.

"That's right! You drank catnip, so you're in the club now, lad!" Raul said, giving Puss a pat on the back.

"The club of what?" Puss asked, slightly confused.

"Adults of course! You aren't a youngster any more, sense you just drank catnip!"

Suddenly, Yuan sat up from beside the two.

"I'll let you two get to know each other, I'll be right back, got to check on something," He told them.

"Move faster you old geezer!" Raul called over the music after Yuan, grinning.

"Shut up you old fool," Yuan muttered back at him, also slightly grinning as he continued toward the door.

And with that, Raul turned back to Puss. They were both silent for a few moments, watching the show on the stage, until Puss spoke up.

"So what changes when you become an adult cat?" Puss finally asked.

He couldn't help but wonder this. Yuan had always told him that things would change as he got older, even though he had been 17 at the time. Ever sense then, Puss had always wanted to know what changed when you got older. The question had tugged at his mind every day, and he so he finally decided that Raul, of all people would know how to answer it.

"Well, a lot of things actually," Raul admitted. "For one, you tend to get more aggressive. But you know, that's normal for us guys. The other thing that changes, is your voice gets deeper, like mine for example," Raul explained.

Puss nodded in reply, gesturing for him to continue. "And what else?"

"And this is the last, and most important thing you need to know, the one that you have probably noticed already," Raul said in a serious tone. "You get more attracted to the she cats."

This one, Puss already understood by a long shot. He had felt this same feeling ever sense he was fourteen, about Cloud. But then there was the urge…. Always the same urge he had around she cats. But what was it? That was a question Puss knew he had to ask.

"Uh- sorry to interrupt but I had a question…" Puss started.

Raul nodded for him to continue. "Go ahead son, ask me anything."

"Do you ever- get this weird urge around she cats?" He asked nervously.

He wasn't sure how Raul would act to the question, and that was what made him feel this way.

"Weird urge? Oh, you're talking about that urge…" Raul said, starting to grin.

Puss felt they were on the same page at this gesture. "Yeah, that urge."

"Well… that urge you are feeling, is an urge all us male cats have, when we get to that age. Son, what you are feeling is the urge to mate."

Puss couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew very well what the word meant, but he had not known, that all this time, THAT, was what he had been feeling around Cloud.

"Is there any way to hold it back?" Puss asked, now wanting a possible solution.

"Nope, sorry about that, that's just the way nature works with us cats. You see, we start to feel this energy, start to emit from the females. That is what attracts us males to them to- you know….. "make love with them," Raul explained.

"Why, do you have someone "special?" Raul suddenly asked with another grin.

Puss hesitated, knowing that he couldn't let Yuan know that he was in love with Cloud. And Raul was a clear connection to Yuan.

"Come on!" Raul urged. "I know that old fool thinks that love gets in the way, but I don't believe him. I promise you I won't tell," Raul insisted.

He leaned closer to Puss, so close Puss could smell his milky breath. "Then maybe I could give you some, "man to man," tips on how to get the ladies." Raul told him with a wink of an eye.

With a reluctant sigh, Puss finally gave in. He had to admit, he did like this cat, and for some reason, he felt he could trust this stranger with his secret. "Yes."

"Ha! I knew it! You youngsters always took right after me," Raul said with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I won't say anything to Yuan," he told him with another wink. "This can be our: "male cat to male cat secret."

Puss smiled briefly, and gave a silent nod.

"Alright then, let me give you a few tips on her then…" Raul insisted.

* * *

As they continued to talk, the two brothers playing guitars started- somewhat of a conversation.

"I bet I could play a whole lot better than you could!" One cat insisted.

"You? Your music sounds like it's coming from a broken violin!" the other protested, still continuing to play.

"Oh yeah? Well your guitar sounds like a sword scratching metal!" The first brother countered. "It would probably scare away all the she cats in Spain."

"You mean attract them all!" The 2nd brother countered, starting to speed up his playing. "I'm going to get a mate before you do!"

"No you won't!" The 1st one rejected.

"Yes I will."

"Oh yeah? Not with a broken tail you won't!" The first brother insisted, slamming his guitar onto his brothers tail, sending a loud yowl of pain from him. He immediately stopped playing and turned to face his brother.

Little did they know however, they had attracted the attention of every cat in the Cantina.

"Are you crazy!?" The brother shouted, rubbing his hit tail softly.

"No, I'm just getting a mate before you!"

"You wish!" The two brothers lifted there guitars, threatening to hit each other, making some cats laugh hysterically at the scene.

Puss watched the scene along with them.

Raul did a facepalm, letting out a frustrated sigh as he sat up from his chair.

"Wait one minute, I gotta deal with these clowns," Raul growled, walking up onto the stage.

Before either of them could react, Raul picked both of the brothers up by the necks of their pelts, making them yowl with fear and drop their now wrecked guitars.

"What was the last thing I told you fools before I let you both play on this stage, FOR THE 100TH TIME?!"Raul growled, his fur bristling.

"Awe, come on Raul! We- we weren't fighting, you got it all wrong!" One of the brothers protested, as he dragged them towards the back door.

"Yeah, come on man! It was all a misunderstanding!" The other agreed.

"Tell it to the Captain," Raul snapped, nearly at the door. "I don't want no fights in my bar today!"

But a voice interrupted the scene. "Raul, put them down!"

Raul turned around to find Yuan, standing in the middle of the room. "But Yuan-"

Yuan mouthed something to him before he could finish the sentence, gesturing for him to come to him.

Raul let out a frustrated sigh, before forcing the two Rodriguez brothers to sit on the floor.

"Stay put or you're dead," he growled before walking to Yuan.

Yuan frantically whispered something that Puss couldn't hear, which he then saw Raul nod in response to. As they walked by him, he could make out the last part of the conversation.

"Just find those two idiots something to do. We don't need to get rid of irritating customers, just find them something to do," Yuan insisted quietly, before sitting back down beside Puss.

"What was that all about?" Puss asked.

"Just taking care of them in a less, "violent" way," Yuan responded.

Raul returned a moment later.

"What did you make them do?" Yuan asked.

Raul's mouth formed a sly smile. "I told them to try their luck with a couple she cats."

A moment of silence passed, before Yuan and Raul burst out laughing.

"What am I kidding? They're never going to come close to finding a mate!" Raul said with amusement.

Once their laughter had died down, the three cats turned their attention to one of the brothers, who was just being kissed by a she cat. But one thing about it stood out.

The snowy, white fur.

Raul's mouth was widened with shock. "Heh….. didn't think that cat had it in him, eh?" Raul said with shock.

But the fur immediately caught Puss and Yuan's attention. The sight of the fur was so alarming, Puss knew who it had to belong to. "Wait a minute-"

Yuan ripped out the poster of their criminal they were looking for from his belt.

He and Puss gazed back up from the picture, to the white cats face. Just as the white she cat eyed them both.

Puss knew it was her, just by looking into her eyes.

The White spirit.

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**Hehe, cliffhanger ending! And I just wanted to let you guys know, I do NOT own the White Spirit. A.K.A Lechat. This is Sido 4727' OC. If you have read her story, then you understand who her OC is. ALl credit goes to her for the creation of Lechat Next chapter: The chase will be on! **

**REVIEWS ARE MUCH WANTED! ;D **

**Chapter 8 preview: Puss pursues the very criminal that he is assigned to catch, only to find it's much harder than he thinks. Especially since the cat he's chasing is interested in him...**


	9. Lechat

**Finally! Sorry about the delay, again, that's what happens when you have two stories going on! :/ **

**Note for Sido, creator of Lechat: I just wanted to let you know that in this story, I have decided that Puss and Lechat won't be siblings in this story, for a few reasons you will see in this chapter, and the next. However, I hope you enjoy seeing your OC in this story.**

**Diclamier: I DO NOT OWN Lechat! All credit goes to Sido 4727 for allowing me to use such a well done character! GOOD JOB SIDO! XD (duh!)**

**REVIEWS ARE DESPERATELY WANTED! (sorry for the selfish request, but they are)**

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Before Puss could react, the white she cat chucked at knife at him, which whizzed past his face harmlessly. He unsheathed his sword and lunged at her, only to find that the White Spirit was using one of the Rodriguez brothers as a shield. She put her dagger to his throat, clearly threatening to kill him. Puss and Yuan readied their swords tips on her, as shocked or stunned cats backed away swiftly from the scene.

"Sorry ginger boy, I don't have the time right now," she said seductively before tossing the brother at Puss.

Raul attempted to grab her from behind, but she danced out of reach, and sprinted out the door.

"STOP THAT CAT!" Yuan shouted.

Puss started out the door after the White she cat, followed by Yuan, who surprisingly managed to keep pace with him. The ginger tom chased her down the dark alley, catching a glimpse of her turning a corner. When he had turned it, he ran into two, heavily armored knocked out guards, who were moaning in pain from their injuries. The White Spirit raced down the market district in plain sight, as panicked citizens ducked away from the chase. A group of nearby guards were immediately alerted at the sight of her, and gave chase.

"Stop that cat! VAMOS, VAMOS!" The Captain and his men charged after the white she cat, pikes and swords unsheathed.

Even though she had managed to stay ahead of them, the white cat ran straight into another group of guards blocking her path.

"Ha, ha! We got you now, you naughty cat!" The captain said triumphantly with a grin.

The two groups of guards helped formed a circle around her, their weapons readied. The white she cat just smirked at them, before leaping onto a wall above her.

"Sorry boys, I can't play with you right now," she said with a laugh, before jumping onto a nearby building. "Stupid humans, they never learn!"

Puss hopped onto the same wall and continued pursuing her. Meanwhile, Yuan ran to a stop below him, heaving with exhaustion.

"I can't go any further Puss, go on without me! I'll catch up….. eventually," he wheezed, using the wall as a rest.

With a nod, Puss leapt onto the building. He gazed around the perimeter, searching for the White Spirit cautiously, his sword readied. Suddenly, something soft hit him hard from behind, knocking him onto his stomach as he scrambled back up. And sure enough, there was the White Spirit.

Puss couldn't help thinking that she looked even more beautiful and stunning up close….. for a criminal. He could defiantly see how she could con male cats that easily, a pretty cat like her, how could they not?

But he shook his head repeatedly. Was he getting attracted to her? No, of course not, he couldn't be! He loved Cloud! Besides, this cat didn't even keep real loves.

"So you're the legendary White Spirit eh?" Puss asked with amusement. "I expected you to be taller."

"Oh did you now? Sorry to disappoint you than, ginger boy," she said harshly.

"Don't make me have to hurt you," Puss warned. "If you come with me without struggle, then I can guarantee your safety."

Again, he couldn't help looking at her in that way.

The white she cat let out a laugh. "Please, you think I would go with you? That's a nice offer, but I think I'll pass."

Puss pulled his sword out on her.

"Miss, I am afraid that is not a decision, you are coming with me now," he said more sternly, trying his best to sound tough.

This she cat wasn't going to get away from him that easily!

The White Spirit looked offended for a split second.

"Now, that is not a very respectful thing to say to a lady. I think I need to teach you a lesson."

Puss didn't hesitate to lunge at her, only to have his opponent dance away harmlessly to the side. He darted back around to face her, only to be hit from behind! Groaning with pain, Puss sat up from the ground, glaring back up at the White Spirit. With a laugh, she threw back her head.

"If there's one thing I learned about you men, it's that you are all, just too reckless," she taunted, taking out a sword of her own.

Puss scrambled back up from the ground, readying his sword hastily. His opponent's blade crossed over his as a sign of respect, and signaling the start of a duel.

This was the one thing Yuan had always told him to do, as an honorable and fair way of starting a duel. If your opponent refused to do this at the start, then they would be considered, "dishonorable." And Puss found it surprising, that this cat of all people, would ACTUALLY follow that rule.

They both put one hand behind their backs, not breaking eye contact for one second. Puss decided to make the first move, taking a few quick slashes with his sword, only to have them easily blocked. The White Spirit clashed with him once more, counter attacking him from the sides swiftly. Luckily, Puss managed to block these attempted moves. He deflected her blade to the side, but she immediately rebalanced herself and continued attacking him. When she had just reached the edge of the roof, the white she cat leapt onto a wooden beam above them, extending to another house across from them. She readied herself casually as Puss stepped onto the beam, taking one captious paw step after another in an effort to keep him himself balanced. Shocked citizens from below watched in awe as the two cats approached each other, blades readied.

"You think you can best me, handsome?" The White Spirit taunted him with a smirk.

"Would you like to find out, witch?" Puss shot back, earning another offended look from her.

"Now that was just rude," she hissed, before starting a sudden attack on him.

They exchanged cautious slashes at each other to be sure that they stayed balance, not really doing any progress on winning. Puss decided to take a reckless chance when the white she cat went off balance, but she leapt behind him at the last second, leaving Puss unbalanced. He quickly turned around, stopping her blade just in time with his own before it could reach him. He brought his blade back and continued to slash and clash against her blade, deflecting multiple blows away from him. After a few more minutes of combat, they both gained distance from each other, heaving with exhaustion.

"You aren't bad, ginger boy," she breathed with a grin.

Suddenly, Puss had an idea to stall her, as he eyed the rope holding the beam below her.

"Senorita, how about you tell me your name, so that way I don't have to keep calling you the White cat?" He asked, while backing up cautiously.

The white cat smiled at him slyly. "Lechat, how bout yours ginger?"

"Puss," he replied casually, eying the rope hold, just below her legs now.

"Well, it was nice to meet you…."

Suddenly, before Puss could react, Lechat tossed a dagger at ANOTHER rope, which also held the beam.

And it was right below Puss' feet.

Lechat did a back flip in mid air, landing on the building behind her just as the beam snapped and started to collapse. Puss ran forward as fast as he could, leaping towards the building Lechat was on. His paws were only inches away from the edge, but he hadn't been able to reach it, as his body started to fall. His made one desperate attempt to save himself, by grabbing onto the remained of the beam with his claws, now hanging limply in the air.

He wasted no time climbing to the top, where Lechat waited patiently, whistling a tune while he climbed. When his paw had reached the top, he immediately expected Lechat to take him hostage or something.

But to his surprise, all he did was offer a paw to help him up.

He looked at her paw in surprise, than back at Lechat, who just let out a laugh at seeing his expression. She grabbed his orange paw, pulling the grateful (But surprised) Puss back onto the building.

"Why did you rescue me?" Puss demanded, as soon as his feet touched the roof again.

Lechat just studied him curiously, before Puss got a reply.

"I see the way you look at me, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," Lechat insisted.

Puss scoffed in reply, gazing at the town house below him.

"So what, you rescued me just because you think I like you? Because I assure you that is not the case!" Puss said, trying to be serious about his tone of voice.

"Are you sure about that?" Lechat asked, hiding an amused grin.

Puss lowered his hat briefly, still gazing down at the dirt road below him. "Well, let's see…"

Suddenly, Puss swiftly turned around and tossed himself at Lechat, his sword drawn. He rolled around with Lechat for a few minutes, still attempting to arrest her. However, he only succeeded in getting LECHAT, on top of him, in an awkward position. But he was surprised to see that she didn't bother to take out her dagger, even though Puss had lost his sword.

"Oooooo, how romantic," Lechat said with a laugh, getting off the top of him.

"Tell you what, "Puss in Boots," if you change your mind about this, "mistaken liking," then I will be at the abandoned warehouse west of here. And if you decide to come, then let's just say that we can attend to more….. Private matters," Lechat said, with a slight seductiveness to her voice.

At first, Puss was about to right away reject the offer. But then, another idea popped into his mind, an idea that would get her arrested for sure.

And all he had to do, was accept her invitation. She would never suspect that he would try to arrest her, as long as he managed to make her think that he trusted her. Puss knew for sure that she would try to double cross him, however, he decided that he would be the first one to double cross her!

"Alright then Senorita, I will be sure to think about it," Puss assured her.

"I look forward to seeing you there…" She said slyly, before disappearing from the rooftop.

* * *

"You let her get away?" Yuan asked with disbelief, after hearing his story about the chase.

"Master, she was too fast, she managed to slip right through my paws before I could react!" Puss explained swiftly.

When his master looked more distressful, Puss added, "But I know where she is now, I plan on going after her tonight Master, I know I can catch her!"

Yuan sighed with frustration, looking back at his apprentice.

"You'd better," he said firmly, "I expect to see that witch in chains, by tomorrow!" He said aloud, before sitting back down in his throne.

"Yes Master." Puss dipped his head respectfully, before walking over to the weapon rack.

A small case lie under the rack, which Puss knew held handcuffs. However, he knew that these weren't just any handcuffs.

Puss opened the box, to reveal a extremely large pair of pure gold, handcuffs.

These Royal, England handcuffs were only ones in the world, that were crafted so well, that they could, NEVER, be broken out of from whatsoever unless you had the key. If Puss could just get this on Lechat, there would be absolutely no way that she could escape him…. And then the reward would be his.

As he finished placing the handcuffs into his knapsack, the old clock against the wall started to ring. It read: Midnight. (or 12:AM) That's when Puss realized, that now was the time for him to pay a visit to Lechat. He knew judging from Lechat's tone of voice, what she intended on doing with Puss. But, what she probably didn't know, was that she wouldn't get what she wants…

Because Puss had other plans for her.

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**Alright everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **

**Note for Sido: Sorry if I didn't match Lechat's personality all the way , but I figured sense this took place in her late teens, that she would be different then how she was in your story. But nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed it! ;D**

**Again, thanks Sido, and give her credit for allowing me to use Lechat! Thanks Sido!**

**Chapter 10 preview: Puss pays his visit to Lechat, where he gets quite a welcome from the sly she cat... but Puss stays true to his intentions, only to find himself in more trouble!**

**And please take my review requests seriously, sense I have already gotten this far in the story! You know I try my hardest in this story, please show me that you want me to continue this story by reviewing. And yes! Of course I will keep writing, but I need you guys to show me that you like the story.**

**P.S Please be sure to leave a vote in my new poll that i posted on my profile! It is about what i should write next, and I need your opinions on it quick!**


	10. Just like me

**Finally! Again, you get why it has been a long delay. I have to admit, I had a little trouble trying to plan the scene between Lechat and Puss, but I think I did alright on that part.**

**Note for Sido: Hope I did okay on the scene between them. :/ Sorry if I didn't add a lot of Lechat's fighting aspects, as I was kinda in a rush to get this done. (You will see more chapters with her in them) I also wanted to point out, that this is not a prequel to your story, cause you know, they aren't siblings in my story. (For VERY obvious reasons you will see in this chapter) But I did stay true to her storyline you added for her. :) Hope you like it! **

**But a quick warning for readers: Suggestive adult themes, and a handful of romance this chapter. (But not Sexuel/Lemony) :P**

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It hadn't taken long for Puss to locate the warehouse that Lechat had been talking about, considering he had known about it sense he was a kitten. Apparently, a few decades ago, it had been used for storing food and rations, and sheltering citizens during the Great War against the French. Now, ever sense the war had ended, the warehouse had long been abandoned ever sense. And Puss knew that must have been why Lechat chose this for their, "meeting place."

The warehouse was just below him, as Puss crept alongside a building for a better view. To his surprise, it still seemed to stand as tall as it had before, though it had seemed to age and decay over the years. Puss' eyes scanned below for the doorway that he had seen before, but could not find it, even with his angle of the building he was seeing. But before he could continue any further, he had spotted another entry point on the side of the building. A small hole seemed to deepen on the side of the roof, right across from him, just small enough for a cat to squeeze through. He readied himself for a jump, before racing forward and leaping into the air, barley making the jump as he forced his claws to screech him to a stop.

After getting up from the ground, Puss found himself in the ceiling of the warehouse, once he noticed the wooden rails going in all directions from him. Taken a cautious peek below him, he could see all the untouched shipping crates and containers. Cobwebs and spider webs seemed to hang in the ugliest corners of the room, and even were littered around the shipping containers.

He padded carefully across one of the wooden rails, until he managed to leap onto one of the shipping crates below him, propelling a cloud of dust into the air. Coughing on the dust that had just engulfed him, Puss swatted the cloud out of his face so that way he could see. Now silently reminding himself why he was here, he starting to take his steps quietly, as he stealthy made his way down from the crate area. Even though it was very dark in the small warehouse, he could see very easily due to his natural night vision as a cat.

Up ahead, he could make out a small light up, just inside another hole in the wall. When he had almost reached the hole, he placed one hand on the gleaming handcuffs, before quietly tiptoeing through the small hole. He found that it was a torch that was making the light, along with a few lanterns next to a comfy looking, blanket layered mat. A few smaller, but open shipping crates lie against the wall next to the mat. And last but not least, a small, bronze case that contained a fiddle sat next to the mat, looking well preserved and in good shape. Overall, the room was fairly nice for being in an abandoned warehouse.

As Puss cautiously looked around for Lechat, a voice from behind startled him.

"You're not going to arrest me with those, are you?"

He leapt around in alarm, to find Lechat, staring right at him. Puss immediately realized that he was holding the handcuffs right in front of her gaze, as she approached him slowly.

"Eh- no," Puss quickly said with a nervous smile, as he tossed them onto the mat behind him.

Lechat quietly leaned against the wall beside him, lighting a torch next to them.

"I was starting to think that you weren't coming," she said silently, turning her gaze back to Puss.

That was when he noticed that she wasn't wearing her daggers, or dagger belt either, a surprising condition. He had expected her to still be cautious about his arrival, but she didn't seem to show any suspicion towards him. And he couldn't see any weapons in sight.

"I could arrest her right now if I wanted to….." Puss thought, thinking he could take advantage of her being unarmed.

But he quickly decided that he wouldn't. A woman like Lechat would probably have some hidden weapons somewhere that he couldn't currently see. Besides, trying to arrest her now would probably provoke her into action.

"So what happens now?" Puss asked, staring at her again.

As he did this, he could feel his intentions wanting to slip away from him.

"No! I can't let that happen!" Puss thought alarmingly. "That's exactly what Lechat wants me to do!"

But at the same time, he couldn't help wondering if she felt the same way about him. Maybe she WOULDN'T, double cross him after all? But the thought quickly slipped Puss mind, as he patiently waited for a reply. She was still a criminal, someone who Puss knew he had to put behind bars for her actions against Spain.

Lechat just simply shrugged, gazing into his eyes. "Whatever you want."

They both stared at each other, her seductive gaze seeming to lock with Puss'. A long silence past by, before one of them had reacted.

Suddenly, Puss tossed himself at Lechat, kissing her on the mouth passionately. Lechat didn't seem surprised at all, as she started kissing him as well. He pressed her against the wall, as they continued to kiss each other roughly. After a little bit of that, Puss guided them towards the mat, where they both feel on it, and started kissing once more. Lechat climbed on top of him, before burrowing her mouth in his. But as they did this, Puss eyed the handcuffs, just inches away from his paw. He stretched his paw out as far as he was able to without Lechat noticing, but wasn't able to reach them. Instead he had another idea.

Puss flipped around with Lechat, on top of her this time, making her gasp with surprise. As they continued to kiss and purr loudly, Puss made sure that Lechat was too occupied to notice what he was reaching for. He started to kiss her more deeply, pinning her against the bed to be sure that she stayed where she was. Purring loudly with pleasure, Lechat started to touch around his belt area, while Puss managed to slowly grab the edge of the handcuffs. His hand hesitated on grabbing them for a minute, but Puss grabbed a hold of the handcuffs. When Lechat was on the verge of making, "further moves," toward him, (You get what kind of moves. ;D) Puss slowly dragged his hand that held the cuffs toward Lechat.

That is, until he felt something sharp touch his stomach.

His hand stopped moving, at the same time they had stopped kissing, as he slowly looked down at his stomach area.

And sure enough, there was Lechat, holding a razor sharp dagger at his chest.

He slowly sat up from Lechat cautiously, slightly surprised that she had a weapon this whole time.

She sighed with disapproval, shaking her head. "I had thought that you would try to pull that naughty move on me."

"So you didn't trust me than I guess, eh?" Puss said, half disappointed for different reasons.

"No, it wasn't that," Lechat insisted simply.

"I knew that you liked me, but I just took…. Precautions, in case something like this happened. After all, a girl's got to be careful, you know how it is," she said with a grin.

With another sigh, she cocked her head to one side.

"It's a shame that we had to cut the romance short, we were just getting to the fun part…. Until you made that sly move on me."

Puss soon realized that he had forgotten his sword, as he attempted to clutch his sheathe.

"Well sorry to disappoint you, but I don't give that privilege to she cats unless I'm available. And right now, I'm not," he finished in a harsh tone of voice.

Lechat frowned at the statement thoughtfully, before a look of amusement appeared on her face.

"Oh really? Is that who taught you what you know now?" She retorted.

"Oh, you have no idea," Puss spat back.

Lechat studied him curiously again, before her expression changed.

"So what happens now?" Puss asked, remembering the last time he had said that to her.

Lechat scoffed, remembering the same thing.

"Very funny, Ginger. But I suppose that is the question yes? Well, I can't kill you, otherwise I'd be charged for murder eventually, so that seems to leave me with one option," Lechat stated, still keeping her dagger on Puss.

Puss slowly reached behind his back with one hand, starting to grab a flask holding some kind of ash. Puss didn't know what it would do, but he was looking for anything that would help to slow her down, so this was his only option.

"You know I can't let you do that, Senorita I can't let you leave without chains," Puss replied firmly, trying to buy him some time.

The white she cat laughed in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, but who do you think is the one armed here?" She pointed out, making a fake jab motion with her dagger.

She turned around slowly, as if thinking he couldn't do anything to defend himself. Puss soon realized that she was taking the fiddle from the case, and placed it carefully into her belt. When she hadn't turned around, Puss knew it was time to make his move. He moved around her cautiously, paw outstretched toward the golden cuffs on the mat. When his paws were within a few inches of the handcuffs, Lechat had just started to turn around. Puss knew he had no other choice.

He grabbed the cuffs from the bed, readying the flask to be thrown. But unfortunately for him, Lechat was anticipating this move. She immediately turned around a chucked a knife at the flask, making it explode in Puss' eyes, before starting for the door. When the ash had hit Puss' eyes, his vision started to blur, and his eyes had started to burn. As he struggled to get the ash out of his eye, he stumbled after Lechat to the best of his ability. Once his vision was cleared, he had caught sight of her, just exiting the warehouse. Puss grabbed a sword from the rack and another one of the ash flasks, before starting after her. He leaped from crate to storage crate until he had managed to reach the hole in the side of the roof. Climbing as fast as he could, he crawled out onto the rooftop, just in time to see Lechat sprinting for another building. Puss immediately began pursuit, running across the long building after her, leaping over obstacles in his way.

Within only a few minutes of the chase, Lechat had skidded to a stop at the very edge of the building, gazing over the edge. She could see no building to jump to next, no balcony to leap down to, and no places left to run. The only thing that she could see below her was a rushing stream, leading to the unknown.

Puss approached her cautiously from behind, his sword readied on her.

"You have no where left to run, Lechat! It's time to stop running, and face your fate," Puss insisted.

Growling with frustration, Lechat turned back around to face him.

"I am not going back to jail! I can't, and I won't!" she said firmly.

"Why?" Puss demanded, taking a step forward. "Why can't you go back to jail?" He asked more calmly.

He found himself starting to soften towards her, as if he understood her, even though he didn't.

Looking down at the ground in sadness, Lechat harshly said, "Why do you care? You wouldn't understand, and no one else does either!"

Puss took another step forward, making her fur bristle alarmingly.

"Try me," Puss insisted.

Lechat scoffed in reply, clutching her dagger. "Nice try, but I think I'll pass."

Puss clutched the flask of blinding ash behind his back.

"Lechat do not take out that dagger, please!" Puss warned.

Lechat started to take it out of the sheathe after he said this. But Puss was faster.

At the exact moment, he chucked the flask forward, barely dodging the airborne dagger. The flask hit Lechat right in the face, making her stagger backwards in pain, clutching her burned eyes. Right off the building.

"MRRRROW!" The panicked sound of Lechat's yowl was the only sound Puss heard, as he attempted to rush forward to her aid.

"Nooo! Lechat!" He yelled with panic, rushing to the edge of the building. He hadn't meant to kill her!

But lucky for him, Lechat's head soon appeared above the water of the river, choking on water and gasping for air.

"Help! I can't swim!" Lechat cried desperately, while being carried across by the rivers current.

Puss widened his eyes with surprise and alarm. He had expected a cat like her to know how to swim, yet out of the things she knows, she didn't know how to swim.

Puss found the quickest way possible off the building, before rushing towards the river. Right on the side that Lechat was being carried towards, guards were eating lunch on a nearby bridge.

"Oh no," Puss thought once he saw them.

They hadn't noticed Lechat yet, but once they did, Puss knew she would be in big trouble.

Sprinting ahead until he had managed to get ahead of Lechat, he leapt into the water, front legs first. The minute he had done this, Lechat had just gone under.

"NO! Lechat hold on!" Puss shouted.

After inhaling deeply, he submerged himself underwater. After a quick scan of the water, he had managed to locate Lechat, thanks to his ability to locate scents easily. Padding forward as quickly as he could, he managed to get Lechat onto his back, alive and well. He was relieved that she was awake, otherwise it would have been a lot harder to get her to shore. As soon as she was firmly attached to her back, he swam his way right back to the surface, Lechat and Puss both spitting out water and gasping for air.

After a brief swim, they had reached nearby shore, well away from the guards on the bridge, where Puss let Lechat rest on the ground.

She panted heavily with exhaustion, her white fur ungroomed, with water droplets dripping off of every strand of fur on her body. Overall, she wasn't as pretty as she had been when Puss had first met her.

Checking his belt, Puss had realized that he had lost his golden handcuffs.

But this time, he didn't feel discouraged for some reason.

Why? Puss didn't know the answer to that question.

* * *

After some time of recovering, Puss and Lechat were dried off….. at least enough. Now, Puss was getting to the point where he had to figure out what do with her, or at least, what HE, was going to do. But Puss felt that before he decided to make that decision, that he wanted some answers first. He knew that there must have been a reason behind Lechat's behavior back there, or rather, a reason for someone like her to be an outlaw.

Puss stood up from the ground and walked up to Lechat, who was still recovering from her unfortunate experience.

"I find it surprising that you don't know how to swim," Puss said with amusement.

Instead of glaring or scoffing in reply like he'd expected her to, she just smiled briefly at this.

"I was never one to like water," she admitted, "After all, a girl's got to have fears too right?" She joked.

Puss chuckled at this. "Don't we all?" He replied, sitting down beside her.

A silence seemed to drift between them, as they watched the river current rush by.

"You know, if you're going to arrest me, you may as well do it right now," Lechat insisted, breaking the silence between them.

Puss sighed flatly in response."I'm not going to arrest you Lechat."

"What?" Lechat sounded surprised. "Why?"

"I just don't see the point of it anymore," Puss started to explain, shaking his head silently. "I used to think that all outlaws were horrible, evil people when I was a kitten, but now that I am actually hunting them, I'm not so sure."

"By, "them," you mean me, correct?' Lechat asked, earning a nod from Puss.

"You are my first," he confirmed.

"Where are you getting at then?"she pressed.

"Lechat, why did you become an outlaw?" Puss finally caught to the chase.

Lechat sat up from the ground at the question, looking nervous. "Look, you are very sweet for rescuing me and all, but I can't-"

"Can't or won't?" Puss challenged.

Lechat opened her mouth to speak, but ended up letting out a reluctant sigh.

"Alright, you rescued me from drowning and didn't arrest me, so I suppose that counts for something. Fine then, I will give you the short version."

Puss gestured for her to continue. "Go on."

"I lost my kittens, so I became an outlaw looking for them," she explained bluntly.

"What? How did you end up becoming an outlaw?" Puss asked.

Lechat looked him back in the eye. "I stole," she simply said, now looking down at the ground shamefully. "I didn't care what it took, as long as I found my children. But to this day, I never did…."

"Besides, how else are you expected to survive when you have no parents?" Lechat added.

The whole sentence shocked Puss, as he widened his eyes with disbelief. "She's just like me…." Puss realized. "An orphan."

"You- you have no mother or father?" he asked.

Lechat nodded in reply sadly. "I got used to it after a while, considering I still had my sister. But, sometimes… it just hits you once in a while that you never knew who your actual parents were, you know?"

"I know exactly what that feels like," Puss said behind closed eyes, as a single tear fell from one of his eyes.

After another moment of silence, Lechat sat up from the ground, her sadness suddenly gone.

"Well, I'm sorry to cut this touching moment short, but I think I have to go," Lechat said, gesturing to the guards starting to pack up their lunch on the bridge.

Puss saw the guards as well. "Yes….. somehow I don't think they would appreciate seeing you with me," he said with a laugh. Lechat laughed at this too.

"Alright Ginger, I have to go now. But….." her snowy tail brushed by his cheek lightly, making Puss blush slightly. "If you ever need a hand with something, or need a friend to hang around, you know where to find me…." Lechat said, pulling Puss alarmingly close to her face.

She gave him a small kiss on the check, before separating from him. Puss fur stood up at this, partially alarmed.

"Oops, I almost forgot, you aren't available," Lechat joked with a laugh, before darting away.

Puss brushed off his fur, rubbing his cheek with one hand. He couldn't help smirking at this.

"She is one heck of a bad kitty," Puss couldn't help thinking.

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**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the delay, but you all get why. :)**

**Chapter 11 preview: After the following events, Puss reluctantly returns to his mentor, expecting a punishment from him for his, "failure." The lesson/punishment is not what Puss had expected. Meanwhile, Clovis works on a revenge plot against Puss... with the help of a mysterious ally.**

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